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UK Prostate Cancer mortality statistics

In 2005 there were 10,000 deaths in the UK from prostate cancer.1-3

Prostate cancer accounts for around 13% of male deaths from cancer in the UK and is the second most common cause of cancer death in men, after lung cancer.

This page presents prostate cancer mortality statistics including age and trends over time.

The number of deaths from prostate cancer and the rates for the constituent countries of the UK are shown in Table 2.1.1-3

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Prostate cancer mortality by age

In older men aged 85 and over, prostate cancer is the most common cause of all cancer deaths.The numbers of deaths and the death rates by age are shown in Figure 2.11-3

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Trends in prostate cancer mortality

Mortality from prostate cancer in the UK has increased only slightly over the last 20 years unlike incidence. The increase in prostate cancer mortality is especially apparent in the 85+ age group, which saw a 69% increase between 1971 and 2005 (Figure 2.2).1-3

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Overall in UK, mortality was fairly stable during the 1970s and began to increase in the early 1980s. It reached a peak in the early 1990s and there was then a slight fall-off until the end of the century. This was the first sustained decrease in annual death rates for thirty years.4

The last several years have seen an stabilisation in the death rates, but it is too soon to say whether this trend will continue (Figure 2.3).1-3

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A decrease in mortality has also been observed in the USA since 19915 and in Europe since 1993.6

As yet it is still not possible to say what proportion of the fall in mortality is the result of PSA testing or other factors such as improvements in treatment7, changes in cancer registration coding8 or the attribution of death to prostate cancer.9 Only the ongoing randomised trials can provide definitive answers about the efficacy of screening.

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References

1. Office for National Statistics, 2007 Mortality Statistics: Cause, 2005
2. ISD Online, 2007 Cancer Incidence and Mortality in Scotland
3. Northern Ireland Cancer Registry, 2007 Cancer Incidence and Mortality in Northern Ireland, 2005
4. Majeed, A., et al. Trends in prostate cancer incidence, mortality and survival in England and Wales 1971-1998. BJU Int, 2000. 85(9): p. 1058-62.
5. Tarone, R., K. Chu, and O. Brawley, Implications of Stage-Specific Survival Rates in Assessing Recent Declines in Prostate Cancer Mortality Rates. Epidemiology, 2000(11): p. 167-70
6. Levi, F., E. Negri, and S. La Vecchia, Recent Trends in Prostate Cancer Mortality in the European Union. Epidemiology, 2000(11): p. 612
7. Hankey, B., et al.,Cancer Surveillance Series: Interpreting Trends in Prostate Cancer-Part I: Evidence of the Effects of Screening in recent Prostate Cancer Incidence, Mortality and Survival Rates. JNCI, 1999(91): p. 1017-24
8. Swerdlow, A.J., I. dos Santos Silva, and R. Doll, Cancer Incidence & Mortality in England & Wales: trends and risk factors. 2001: Oxford University Press.
9. Feuer, E., R. Merrill, and B. Hankey,Cancer Surveillance Series: Int erpreting Trends in Prostate Cancer-Part II: Cause of Death Misclassification and the Recent Rise and Fall in Prostate Cancer Mortality. JNCI, 1999(91): p. 1025-32

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