Mortality refers to the number of people who have died from cancer and is usually expressed as the number of deaths each year in a specified area (e.g. in Scotland). The mortality rate is the number of people who die from cancer per 100,000 population.
Mortality is generally the most reliable source of statistical information on cancer as it is collected from the death certificate which is a legally required document. The drawback is that mortality rates are the result of both incidence and survival rates and mortality rates alone may mask important trends in incidence and survival.