Testicular cancer - UK mortality statistics

Testicular cancer mortality statistics can be found here, including by age and trends over time up to 2008. Top line mortality for 2009 only can be found on the Data table: Cancer cases and deaths in the UK

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Testicular cancer mortality by age

In 2008 there were 70 deaths from testicular cancer in the UK; 59 in England, 2 in Wales, 8 in Scotland, and 1 in Northern Ireland.( Table 2.1) 1-3 The overall UK death rate age-standardised was 0.2 per 100,000.

Number of deaths and mortality rates for testicular cancer in the countries of the UK

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Most of the deaths occurred between the ages of 30-49 years, although 15 deaths occurred in males under 30 years old. ( Figure 2.1). 1-3

Number of deaths and mortality rates by age for testicular cancer in the UK

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Testicular cancer mortality trends

Figure 2.2 shows the testicular cancer mortality trends from 1971 to 2008.

Age-standardised (European) mortality rates for testicular cancer in the UK since 1971

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The introduction of platinum-based chemotherapy in the 1970s resulted in a dramatic fall in the death rate in the UK and other westernised countries.

Such falls in mortality following the introduction of effective treatment are seen in most developed countries, but not all at the same time, due to the inequitable distribution of resources and expertise between countries. 4

Mortality began to decline earlier in the USA than in the EU, and rates in Eastern Europe did not begin to decline until the late 1980s, resulting in the ‘avoidable’ deaths of several hundred young men each year. 5 The Japanese incidence and mortality rates are relatively low compared with the USA and Europe 6, but they also benefited from improved treatment: the mortality rate fell by 43% in Japanese testicular cancer patients aged 20-44 between 1975-79 and 1995-97. 7

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References for testicular cancer mortality

  1.  Office for National Statistics Mortality Statistics: Cause. England and Wales 2008 London TSO 2010
  2.  Northern Ireland Cancer Registry, 2010, Cancer Mortality in Northern Ireland, 2008
  3.  ISD Online, 2010, Cancer Mortality in Scotland, 2008
  4.  Boyle, P., Testicular cancer: the challenge for cancer control. Lancet Oncol, 2004. 5(1): p. 56-61.
  5.  Levi, F., et al., Testicular cancer mortality in Eastern Europe. Int J Cancer, 2003. 105(4): p. 574.
  6.  Nakata, S., et al., Incidence of urogenital cancers in Gunma Prefecture, Japan: a 10-year summary. Int J Urol, 1998. 5(4): p. 364-9.
  7.  Levi, F., et al., Western and eastern European trends in testicular cancer mortality. Lancet, 2001. 357(9271): p. 1853-4.