Cancer incidence for common cancers

There are more than 200 different types of cancer, but four of them - breast, lung, bowel (also known as colorectal) and prostate - account for over half (54%) of all new cases.1-4 Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, despite the fact that it is rare in men. The 20 most commonly diagnosed cancers in the UK are shown in Figure 2.1.1-4

Figure 2.1: The 20 Most Commonly Diagnosed Cancers Excluding Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer, UK, 2010

Download this chart XLS (62KB)

*Invasive brain and central nervous system tumours (C70-C72)
**3% of all male and female cancer cases are registered without specification of the primary site

Invasive tumours of the brain and central nervous system (CNS) rank 13th highest in males and 17th highest in females; however, when the non-invasive brain and CNS tumours are also included in the total, the ranks are 11th and 8th highest, respectively (data not shown).

section reviewed 19/12/12
section updated 19/12/12

The ten most commonly diagnosed cancers in males in the UK in 2010 are shown in Figures 2.2 and 2.3.1-4

Figure 2.2: The 10 Most Commonly Diagnosed Cancers in Males, UK, 2010

Download this chart XLS (55KB)

*3% of all male cases are registered without specification of the primary site

Prostate cancer, with an age-standardised (AS) rate of 105 per 100,000 males, accounts for one in four (25%) male cases (Figures 2.2 and 2.3)1-4, with the next most common cancers being lung (14%; even though the rate of lung cancer has fallen dramatically since the mid-1980s) and bowel (14%). Bladder, oesophageal and stomach cancers are among the top ten most common cancers in males, but not in females.

Figure 2.3: The 10 Most Commonly Diagnosed Cancers in Males, Percentages of All Cancer Cases Excluding Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer (C00-C97 excl. C44), UK, 2010

Download this chart XLS (70KB)

*3% of all male cases are registered without specification of the primary site

section reviewed 19/12/12
section updated 19/12/12

The ten most commonly diagnosed cancers in females in the UK in 2010 are shown in Figures 2.4 and 2.5.1-4

Figure 2.4: The 10 Most Commonly Diagnosed Cancers in Females, UK, 2010

Download this chart XLS (53KB)

*3% of all female cases are registered without specification of the primary site

Breast cancer, with an AS rate of 126 per 100,000 women, is by far the most commonly diagnosed cancer in females, accounting for almost a third (31%) of all female cases (Figures 2.4 and 2.5).1-4 The next most common cancers in women are lung and bowel, accounting for similar proportions of cases (12% and 11%, respectively). Two of the top ten female cancer sites are sex-specific (uterus and ovary), compared with just one site (prostate) in males.

Figure 2.5: The 10 Most Commonly Diagnosed Cancers in Females, Percentages of All Cancer Cases Excluding Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer (C00-C97 excl. C44), UK, 2010

Download this chart XLS (71KB)

*3% of all female cases are registered without specification of the primary site

section reviewed 19/12/12
section updated 19/12/12

The percentage change in incidence rates in the last decade in the UK for the top twenty cancers show varying trends by cancer site and sex (Figures 2.6 and 2.7).1-4 There have been large increases in the incidence of many cancers strongly linked to lifestyle choices, such as kidney, liver, malignant melanoma, oral and uterine.5 It is worth noting that the decrease in bladder cancer incidence will have been affected by a change in coding practice that reduced the number of registrations of malignant bladder cancer from 2000 onwards. This change was recommended by the European Network of Cancer Registries and subsequently adopted and implemented by the United Kingdom Association of Cancer Registries (UKACR).6

Figure 2.6: The 20 Most Common Cancers, Percentage Change in European Age-Standardised Three Year Average Incidence Rates, Males, UK, 1999-2001 and 2008-2010

Download this chart XLS (71KB)

*Invasive brain and other central nervous system tumours (C70-C72)

Figure 2.7: The 20 Most Common Cancers, Percentage Change in European Age-Standardised Three Year Average Incidence Rates, Females, UK, 1999-2001 and 2008-2010

Download this chart XLS (69KB)

*Invasive brain and other central nervous system tumours (C70-C72)

Malignant melanoma is the fastest increasing cancer in males and the second fastest increasing cancer in females (with age-standardised rates rising by 65% and 46%, respectively, in the last decade). Some of the increase may be due to increased surveillance and early detection as well as improved diagnosis, but most is considered to be real and linked to changes in recreational or holiday exposure to UV rays (including sunlight and sunbeds).7,8

Liver cancer, though rare in the UK (AS rates are 7 per 100,000 males and 3 per 100,000 females) is the second fastest increasing cancer in males and the fourth fastest in females (increases of 44% and 31%, respectively, in the last decade). Cirrhosis of the liver (caused by excessive drinking, viral infections or inherited diseases) is a major risk factor for this cancer.9

Kidney cancer is the third fastest increasing cancer in males and females (AS rates have increased by 26% and 35%, respectively, in the last decade). Established risk factors for kidney cancer include cigarette smoking and obesity.10-12

Prostate cancer is the fifth fastest increasing cancer in males, with AS rates rising by around a fifth (22%) in the last decade. The use of prostate specific antigen (PSA) test for prostate cancer will have contributed to the marked increase in new diagnoses of this disease.13,14

While thyroid cancer is the fastest increasing cancer in females, with the AS rate rising by around two-thirds (67%) in the last decade, it has a small disease burden (6 per 100,000 females). Increased breast cancer incidence (and subsequent treatment) may explain some of the increase.15 Another rapidly increasing cancer with a small disease burden in females is mesothelioma, which is not among the 20 most common cancers, but the AS rate (1 per 100,000 females) has increased by 24% in the last decade. Most cases of mesothelioma are caused by occupational exposure to asbestos (often second-hand in females, for example, by handling contaminated work clothes). Mesothelioma has an extremely long latency period (on average 40 years), which means that past exposure to asbestos contributes new cases of this disease, and the peak in incidence is probably yet to be reached.16,17

In the last decade there have been large decreases in stomach cancer incidence in both males and females (AS rates decreasing by 32% and 28%, respectively). Much of this can be attributed to a decline in the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (a major cause of stomach cancer), an increase in fresh food in the diet, and possible changes in coding and diagnostic practices.18,19

Other cancers showing large decreases in incidence in the last decade include lung and laryngeal in males (AS rates decreasing by 15% and 14 %, respectively), and ovarian and oesophageal in females (11% and 9% decreases, respectively).

section reviewed 19/12/12
section updated 19/12/12

On these incidence pages 'cancer' includes all malignant neoplasms excluding non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). NMSCs are often excluded from cancer statistics for several reasons:

• Studies have shown that NMSCs are greatly under-ascertained in cancer registration data (this is because they are often treated at GP surgeries or on an outpatient basis and the lack of a discharge record means that information is generally not conveyed to cancer registries); 
• NMSCs are very common and some cancer registries only record the basal cell carcinoma primary; 
• NMSCs are also curable in the vast majority of cases.

The numbers of cases and rates of NMSCs are included in the Data Table:Incidence cases and rates for males, females and persons in the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for 40 types of cancer for reference.

section reviewed 19/12/12
section updated 19/12/12

Cancer of unknown primary (CUP, also known as malignancy of unknown origin or cancer registered without specification of primary site) is a diverse group of cancers that are diagnosed from one or more secondary cancers (often in the lymph nodes, liver, lung or bone) and the primary site cannot be found, or is registered without the site being specified. Some cancers are initially registered as CUP but then changed to a specific cancer if tests reveal the primary site.

CUP accounts for 3% of new cancer cases (Figures 2.2 and 2.4 above).1-4 CUP is quite rare under the age of 40, with more than three-quarters (77%) of cases being diagnosed in persons aged 65 and over (in the UK in 2008-2010).

There is no standard definition of CUP, which means that the true incidence of this disease may be underestimated. A recent NICE guideline stated that the majority can be defined by the ICD-10 codes C77-C80.20

The numbers of cases and rates of CUP are included in the Data Table: Incidence cases and rates for males, females and persons in the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for 40 types of cancer for reference.

section reviewed 19/12/12
section updated 19/12/12

Across the UK, the highest AS rates for all cancers combined are seen in Wales for males (454 per 100,000) and Scotland for females (408 per 100,000).1-4 The numbers of new cases and incidence rates are summarised by cancer site and country in the Data Table: Incidence cases and rates for males, females and persons in the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for 40 types of cancer for reference.

England

The incidence of bowel cancer is significantly lower in males compared with the three other UK countries, with incidence rates ranging from 56 per 100,000 in England to 68 per 100,000 in Wales. Other sites with the lowest incidence rates in England include lung cancer in males and cervix in situ. Very few cancers have particularly high incidence rates in England in comparison with the rest of the UK.

Wales

The incidence rates for nearly all cancers in Wales show no significant differences in comparison with the three other UK countries. Cancers with significantly higher rates in Wales include malignant melanoma in males (with rates ranging from 12 per 100,000 in Northern Ireland to 22 per 100,000 in Wales) and prostate cancer (see Scotland below)  

Scotland

The high prevalence of smoking in Scotland (25%, compared with 20% in England21) means that smoking-related cancers have particularly high incidence rates. Lung cancer incidence is significantly higher in Scotland in comparison with the rest of the UK, with incidence rates in males ranging from 56 per 100,000 in England to 75 per 100,000 in Scotland, and in females from 35 per 100,000 in Northern Ireland to 56 per 100,000 in Scotland. Other sites with significantly higher incidence rates in Scotland in comparison with the three other UK countries include oral cancer in males and oesophageal cancer in females.

Prostate cancer has a significantly lower incidence rate in Scotland in comparison with the three other UK countries, with rates ranging from 82 per 100,000 in Scotland to 114 per 100,000 in Wales. Some of this variation may be explained by differences in the availability and uptake of prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing across the UK.

Northern Ireland

The incidence of female breast cancer has been lowest in Northern Ireland compared with the three other UK countries for almost two decades,22 with rates in 2010 ranging from 115 per 100,000 in Northern Ireland to 130 per 100,000 in Wales. Other cancers with significantly lower rates in Northern Ireland in comparison with the rest of the UK include malignant melanoma in males and ovarian cancer. Very few cancers have significantly higher incidence rates in Northern Ireland in comparison with the rest of the UK.

section reviewed 19/12/12
section updated 19/12/12