Oesophageal cancer statistics - Key Facts

• Oesophageal cancer is the ninth most common cancer in the UK.
• In 2009, 8,161 people were diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in the UK, that’s around 22 people every day.
• Oesophageal cancer is the eigth most common cancer in men in the UK, with around 5,420 new cases diagnosed in 2009.
• Around 2,740 women were diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in 2009 in the UK.
• Around 8 in 10 oesophageal cancers occur in people aged 60 or over.
• Oesophageal cancer rates in men have risen by more than 60% over the last 30 years. In women the rates increased by 14%.
• It is estimated that around 33,000 people were diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in Europe (EU-27) in 2008.
• In 2008, an estimated 482,000 people were diagnosed with oesophageal cancer worldwide.

Read more in depth UK oesophageal cancer incidence statistics.

section updated 02/05/12

• Younger oesophageal cancer patients have better survival rates than older patients.
• Overall, around 30% of people diagnosed with oesophageal cancer survive the disease for at least one year after diagnosis.
• Around 13% of people diagnosed with oesophageal cancer survive the disease for at least five years after diagnosis.
• Ten year survival for oesophageal cancer has trebled in the last forty years but it is still low. Around 1 in 10 patients are likely to survive their disease for at least ten years.

Read more in-depth oesophageal cancer survival statistics.

section updated 02/05/12

• Oesophageal cancer is the sixth most common cause of cancer death and accounts for around 5% of all cancer deaths in the UK.
• In 2010 in the UK, 7,610 people died from oesophageal cancer in the UK, that is around 21 people every day.
• In the UK in 2010, 5,105 men died from cancer of the oesophagus.
• In the UK in 2010, 2,505 women in the UK died from oesophageal cancer.
• Oesophageal cancer mortality rates in men have increased by more than 65% since the early 1970s.
• In Europe (EU-27), an estimated 28,800 people died from oesophageal cancer in 2008.
• Worldwide, in 2008, an estimated 406,800 people died from oesophageal cancer.

Read more in depth UK oesophageal cancer mortality statistics.

section updated 02/05/12

• There are two main types of cancer of the oesophagus: squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma.
• Adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus is increasing rapidly in Western populations but the underlying reasons for this are unclear.
• Tobacco use increases the risk of both types of oesophageal cancer.
• Alcohol consumption increases the risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus.
• Some of the highest risks of squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus occur in people who combine a smoking habit with regularly drinking alcohol.
• Around two-thirds of oesophageal cancers in the UK are caused by smoking and around one-fifth are linked to alcohol.
• Being overweight or obese increases risk of adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus.
• One of the strongest risk factors for adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus is the pre-cancerous condition known as Barrett’s oesophagus.
• Research suggests that regular use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) decreases the risk of oesophageal cancer.
• Radiotherapy to the chest area (mediastinum) and certain rare medical conditions have been linked to an increased risk of oesophageal cancer.

Read more in depth oesophageal cancer risk factors.

section updated 08/12/11

*age-standardised to the European population **not age-standardised

section updated 02/05/12
 

More detailed oesophageal cancer statistics can be found using these links:incidence, survival, mortality, risk factors.