Oesophageal cancer statistics - Key Facts

• Oesophageal cancer is the ninth most common cancer in the UK.
• Each year around 7,800 people are diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in the UK, that’s around 150 people every week.
• Oesophageal cancer is the sixth most common cancer in men in the UK, with around 5,000 new cases diagnosed each year.
• Around 2,800 women are diagnosed with oesophageal cancer each year in the UK.
• 8 in 10 oesophageal cancers occur in people aged 60 or over.
• Rates of oesophageal cancer in men have increased by more than 50% since the 1970s.
• Since the 1970s oesophageal cancer rates in women have increased by nearly a fifth.
• Each year around 460,000 people are diagnosed with oesophageal cancer worldwide.

Read more indepth UK oesophageal cancer incidence statistics.

• Younger oesophageal cancer patients have better survival rates than older patients.
• Overall, around 30% of patients diagnosed with oesophageal cancer survive the disease for at least one year after diagnosis.
• The proportion of people alive five years after diagnosis with oesophageal cancer has increased since the 1970s, however rates are still low with around 8% surviving.

Read more indepth oesophageal cancer survival statistics.

• Oesophageal cancer is the sixth most common cause of cancer death and accounts for around 5% of all cancer deaths in the UK.
• Every year in the UK over 7,300 people die from cancer of the oesophagus.
• Oesophageal cancer mortality rates in men have increased by more than half since the early 1970s.

Read more indepth UK oesophageal cancer mortality statistics.

• 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.
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• 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.
• 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 has shown that smoking, excess alcohol, and low fruit and vegetable consumption cause around 9 in 10 squamous cell cancers of the oesophagus.
• Smoking, overweight and obesity, low intake of fruit and vegetables, and acid reflux account for an estimated 8 in 10 adenocarcinomas of the 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 indepth oesophageal cancer risk factors.

*age-standardised to the European population ** period estimates