Cancer mortality for common cancers

Deaths from cancers of the lung, bowel, breast and prostate together account for 47% 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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*Bowel cancer including anal cancer (C18-C21)  
**8% of all female cancer deaths and 6% of all male cancer deaths are registered without specification of the primary site

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 information on mortality from different cancers can be found using the types of cancer menu.

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

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 (Figure 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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*Bowel cancer including anal cancer (C18-C21)  
**6% of all male cancer deaths are registered without specification of the primary site

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 11% 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: The 10 Most Common Causes of Cancer Death in Males, Percentages of All Cancer Deaths (C00-97), UK, 2010

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*Bowel cancer including anal cancer (C18-C21)    
**6% of all male cancer deaths are registered without specification of the primary site

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

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 (Figure 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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*Bowel cancer including anal cancer (C18-C21) 
**8% of all female cancer deaths are registered without specification of the primary site

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: The 10 Most Common Causes of Cancer Death in Females, Percentages of All Cancer Deaths (C00-C97), UK, 2010

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*Bowel cancer including anal cancer (C18-C21) 
**8% of all female cancer deaths are registered without specification of the primary site

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

Mortality rates for the majority of cancer types have decreased over the past ten years in the UK (Figure 2.6 and 2.7).1-3 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 European age-standardised incidence rates for male lung cancer and female breast cancer have both decreased by around a fifth (19% each) between 1999-2001 and 2008-2010. The largest falls in mortality in the last decade have occurred for stomach cancer (36% and 32% decreases in the male and female rates, respectively) and cervical cancer (28% decrease).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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*Bowel cancer including anal cancer (C18-C21)
**Brain and central nervous system, invasive (C70-C72)
***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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*Bowel cancer including anal cancer (C18-C21)
**Brain and central nervous system, invasive (C70-C72)
 

More information on mortality from different cancers can be found using the types of cancer menu.

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

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.

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-C80.5

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