Oesophageal cancer statistics - Key Facts

• Oesophageal cancer is the ninth most common cancer in the UK.
• Around 8,170 people were diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in the UK in 2008, that’s around 157 people every week.
• Oesophageal cancer is the seventh most common cancer in men in the UK, with around 5,460 new cases diagnosed in 2008.
• Around 2,710 women were diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in 2008 in the UK.
• Around 8 in 10 oesophageal cancers occur in people aged 60 or over.
• Oesophageal cancer rates in men have risen by 50 per cent over the last 25 years. In women the rates increased by only 9%.
• 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 08/12/11

• 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.
• 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.

• Oesophageal cancer is the sixth most common cause of cancer death and accounts for around 5% of all cancer deaths in the UK.
• Around 7,610 people died from oesophageal cancer in the UK in 2008, that is around 20 people every day.
• Around 5,030 men in the UK died from cancer of the oesophagus in 2008 in the UK.
• Around 2,580 women in the UK died from oesophageal cancer in 2008 in the UK.
• Oesophageal cancer mortality rates in men have increased by 70% 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.

• 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 

section updated 08/12/11
 

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