Cancer mortality for common cancers

Deaths from cancers of the lung, bowel, breast and prostate together account for 46% of all cancer deaths. The 20 most common causes of death from cancer in the UK are shown in Figure 2.1.1-3

Figure 2.1: The 20 Most Common Causes of Cancer Death, UK, 2010

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8% of all female cancer deaths and 6% of all male cancer deaths were registered as cancer of unknown primary (CUP).

More than one in five (22%) cancer deaths in males and females combined are from lung cancer. Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death (10%) and, despite being extremely rare in men, breast cancer is the third most common cause of cancer death overall (7%) (Figure 2.1).1-3

Cigarette smoking has been identified as the single most important cause of preventable death in the UK. Overall, more than a quarter of all deaths from cancer, including an estimated 86% of lung cancer deaths, are caused by tobacco smoking.4

More detailed information on mortality for individual cancer sites is available in the types of cancer pages.

section reviewed 31/05/13
section updated 31/05/13

Despite the fall in male lung cancer mortality rates, lung cancer is still by far the most common cause of cancer deaths in men, accounting for just under a quarter (24%) of all male cancer deaths in the UK (Figures 2.2 and 2.3).1-3

Figure 2.2: The 10 Most Common Causes of Cancer Death in Males, UK, 2010

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6% of all male cancer deaths were registered as cancer of unknown primary (CUP).

Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in men, accounting for 13% of all male cancer deaths. The third most common cause of cancer deaths in men is bowel cancer, responsible for 10% of all male cancer deaths.

These three cancers - lung, prostate and bowel - account for just under half (47%) of all male cancer deaths.

Figure 2.3: Most Common Causes of Cancer Death in Males, Percentages of All Cancer Deaths (C00-C97), UK, 2010

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6% of all male cancer deaths were registered as cancer of unknown primary.

section reviewed 31/05/13
section updated 31/05/13

Lung cancer also causes the largest proportion of cancer deaths in females in the UK. Just over a fifth (21%) of all female cancer deaths are from lung cancer (Figures 2.4 and 2.5).1-3

Figure 2.4: The 10 Most Common Causes of Cancer Death in Females, UK, 2010

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8% of all female cancer deaths were registered as cancer of unknown primary.

Breast cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in women, accounting for 15% of all female cancer deaths. The third most common cause of cancer death in females is bowel cancer, responsible for 10% of all female cancer deaths.

Deaths from lung, breast and bowel cancers account for nearly half (46%) of all female cancer deaths.

Figure 2.5: Most Common Causes of Cancer Death in Females, Percentages of All Cancer Deaths (C00-C97), UK, 2010

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8% of all female cancer deaths were registered as cancer of unknown primary.

section reviewed 31/05/13
section updated 31/05/13

The percentage changes in AS mortality rates for the top twenty cancers in males and females between 1999-2001 and 2008-2010 in the UK show varying trends by cancer site (Figures 2.6 and 2.7).1-3

Mortality rates have decreased for ten of the twenty cancer sites in males, and eleven in females (Figures 2.6 and 2.7, respectively). Apart from female lung cancer, all of the four most common causes of cancer death – male lung, bowel, female breast and prostate cancers – have seen decreases in the last decade.

The largest falls in mortality have occurred for stomach cancer (AS mortality rates decreasing by 36% and 32% in males and females, respectively, in the last decade),1-3 reflecting similar decreases in incidence. Much of the decrease in incidence and mortality 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.5,6 Other cancers showing large decreases in mortality in the last decade include cervical cancer (AS mortality rate decreasing by 28% in the last decade, with much of this decrease being attributed to screening), laryngeal cancer in males (20% decrease), and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in females (21% decrease). Even though prostate cancer has shown one of the biggest increases in incidence in the last decade (with AS incidence rates rising by 22%), the AS mortality rate has fallen by around a tenth (11%) over the same time period.1-3 Part of the decrease in mortality may be attributed to earlier diagnosis as a result of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing, though changes to the classification of prostate cancer deaths, and improvements in treatment, are also likely to have played a part.7-12

Some cancers have seen increases in mortality over the past decade, which often reflect increases in incidence where there has been little or no improvement in survival. Although mortality from liver cancer is rare in the UK (AS mortality rates are 6 and 3 per 100,000 males and females, respectively), it has shown the biggest rise in mortality in the last decade (with AS mortality rates increasing by 38% and 34% in males and females, respectively).1-3

The second biggest increase in mortality is from cancer of other digestive organs in both males and females, with the AS mortality rates rising by 27% and 19%, respectively, in the last decade; mortality from this cancer is very rare, however (4 and 3 per 100,000 males and females, respectively). In females, the third biggest increase is from uterine cancer; this cancer also has a small mortality burden (4 per 100,000 females), and the AS mortality rate has increased by 14% in the last decade. Despite malignant melanoma showing the largest increase in incidence in males and the second largest increase in females in the last decade (with AS incidence rates rising by 65% and 46%, respectively), the increases in mortality are much less pronounced (with AS mortality rates rising by 18% and 5% in males and females, respectively, over the same time period).1-3

Figure 2.6: The 20 Most Common Causes of Cancer Death, Percentage Change in European Age-Standardised Three-Year Average Mortality Rates, Males, UK, 1999-2001 and 2008-2010

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Malignant brain, other central nervous system (CNS) and intracranial tumours only (C70-C72, C75.1-C75.3). Cancer of other digestive organs (ICD-10 C26) includes the spleen, unspecified parts of the intestinal tract, and overlapping and ill-defined sites within the digestive system. Mesothelioma trends are for 2001-2003 and 2008-2010.

Figure 2.7: The 20 Most Common Causes of Cancer Death, Percentage Change in European Age-Standardised Three-Year Average Mortality Rates, Females, UK, 1999-2001 and 2008-2010

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Malignant brain, other central nervous system (CNS) and intracranial tumours only (C70-C72, C75.1-C75.3). Cancer of other digestive organs (ICD-10 C26) includes the spleen, unspecified parts of the intestinal tract, and overlapping and ill-defined sites within the digestive system.
 

More detailed information on mortality for individual cancer sites is available in the types of cancer pages.

section reviewed 31/05/13
section updated 31/05/13

Deaths from cancer of unknown primary (CUP, also known as malignancy of unknown origin or cancer registered without specification of primary site), account for 6% of cancer deaths in males and 8% of cancer deaths in females in the UK in 2010.

CUP is quite rare as a cause of death under the age of 40, but nearly three in five deaths from CUP (59%) occur in persons aged 75 and over (2008-2010). There is, however, some variation between the sexes, with 54% of CUP deaths in males compared with 64% of female CUP deaths occurring in the over-75s.

There is no standard definition of CUP, which means that the true mortality of this disease may be underestimated. A recent NICE guideline stated that the majority can be defined by the ICD-10 codes C77-C80.13

section reviewed 15/05/12
section updated 15/05/12