Bowel cancer statistics - Key Facts

• Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK.
• Each year more than 38,000* people are diagnosed with bowel cancer in the UK, that’s more than 100 people every day.
• Bowel cancer is the second most common cancer in women after breast cancer, with around 17,600 new cases diagnosed in 2007.
• In 2007, around 21,000 men were diagnosed with bowel cancer in the UK each year making it the third most common cancer in men after prostate and lung cancer.
• Over 8 in 10 bowel cancer cases occur in people aged 60 and over.
• Bowel cancer incidence rates have remained relatively stable for over a decade.
• In Europe (EU-27) there were more than 333,000 new cases of bowel cancer diagnosed in 2008.
• Worldwide 1.23 million new cases of bowel cancer were diagnosed in 2008.
• The lowest incidence rates of bowel cancer are seen in South Central Asia, and Middle African countries. The highest rates are in Europe, North America and Australasia.
• Read more in-depth UK bowel cancer incidence statistics.

• Five-year survival rates for bowel cancer have doubled over the last 30 years.
• Half of patients diagnosed with bowel cancer will survive their disease for at least ten years.
• People diagnosed with bowel cancer are now twice as likely to survive their disease for at least ten years than those diagnosed in the early 1970s.
• Research suggests over 90% of bowel cancer patients will survive the disease for more than five years if diagnosed at the earliest stage.
• Younger bowel cancer patients have a better prognosis than older patients.

Read more in-depth bowel cancer survival statistics.

• Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK after lung cancer.
• Every year more than 16,000* people die of bowel cancer in the UK.
• Bowel cancer death rates have been falling since the late 1970s. Over the last decade death rates have dropped by around 13%.
• In 2008 almost 149,000 people died from bowel cancer in Europe (EU-27).
• Worldwide bowel cancer killed more than 600,000 people in 2008, more than half of these deaths are in the more developed regions of the world.

Read more in-depth UK bowel cancer mortality statistics.

• High intake of red and processed meat will increase the chances of developing bowel cancer whereas a diet rich in fibre will reduce your risk.
• At least 10% of colon cancers in the UK are related to overweight or obesity.
• Being inactive increases risk of bowel cancer.
• Research has shown that people drinking more than 30g/day of alcohol (around 4 units) have an increased risk of bowel cancer.
• More than 10 years regular use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) reduces the risk of bowel cancer.
• People with a first degree relative with bowel cancer are at twice the average risk of developing it themselves.
• People with diabetes, ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease all have an increased risk of bowel cancer.

Read more in-depth bowel cancer risk factors.

• The NHS Bowel Screening Programme began in England in 2006 and in Scotland in 2007.
• There could be up to 20,000 fewer deaths from bowel cancer over the next 20 years if just 60% of those eligible took up the invitation for bowel screening.

Read more in-depth bowel cancer screening and prevention.

*average of the last three years **age-standardised to the European population