Bladder cancer incidence statistics

Bladder cancer is the 11th most common cancer in the UK, accounting for 3% of all new cancer cases (2017-2019).[1-4]

In females in the UK, bladder cancer is the 17th most common cancer (2% of all new female cancer cases). In males in the UK, it is the 7th most common cancer (4% of all new male cancer cases).

27% of bladder cancer cases in the UK are in females, and 73% are in males.

Bladder cancer incidence rates (European age-standardised (AS) rate Open a glossary item) for persons are significantly lower than the UK average in Scotland and Northern Ireland and are similar to the UK average in all other UK constituent countries.

For bladder cancer, like most cancer types, differences between countries largely reflect risk factor prevalence in years past.

There are 10,600 new cases of in situ and uncertain or unknown behaviour bladder tumours in the UK (excluding Wales) every year (2017-2019).

Bladder Cancer (C67), Average Number of New Cases Per Year, Crude and European Age-Standardised (AS) Incidence Rates per 100,000 Population, UK, 2017-2019

  England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland UK
Female Cases 2,391 244 140 65 2,839
Crude Rate 8.4 8.7 8.8 6.8 8.4
AS Rate 8.2 8.2 7.7 7.1 8.1
AS Rate - 95% LCL 8.0 7.6 6.9 6.1 8.0
AS Rate - 95% UCL 8.4 8.8 8.4 8.1 8.3
Male Cases 6,487 579 394 172 7,632
Crude Rate 23.5 21.9 25.4 18.5 23.3
AS Rate 27.7 25.1 26.5 24.3 27.3
AS Rate - 95% LCL 27.3 23.9 25.0 22.2 27.0
AS Rate - 95% UCL 28.1 26.3 28.0 26.4 27.7
Persons Cases 8,878 823 533 236 10,471
Crude Rate 15.9 15.1 17.0 12.6 15.8
AS Rate 16.9 15.6 16.1 14.6 16.7
AS Rate - 95% LCL 16.7 14.9 15.3 13.5 16.5
AS Rate - 95% UCL 17.1 16.2 16.9 15.7 16.8
95% LCL and 95% UCL are the 95% lower and upper confidence limits around the AS Rate. Open a glossary item

References

  1. Data were provided by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (part of Public Health England), on request through the Office for Data Release, July 2021. Similar data can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/cancerregistrationstatisticsengland/previousReleases
  2. Data were provided by ISD Scotland on request, April 2020. Similar data can be found here: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications.
  3. Data were published by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit, Health Intelligence Division, Public Health Wales https://phw.nhs.wales/services-and-teams/welsh-cancer-intelligence-and-surveillance-unit-wcisu/cancer-incidence-in-wales-2002-2018/, March 2021.
  4. Data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry on request, May 2020. Similar data can be found here: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/.

About this data

Data is for UK, 2017-2019, ICD-10 C67.

For in situ and uncertain or unknown behaviour bladder tumours, there is no data available for Wales.

Last reviewed:

In the UK in 2017-2019, on average each year almost 6 in 10 new cases (56%) were in people aged 75 and over.[1-4]

Age-specific incidence rates rise from around age 50-54, more steeply for males than females. Rates peak around age 85-89 for females and continue rising for males. The highest rates are in the 90+ age group for females and males.

Incidence rates are significantly lower for females than males in a number of (mainly older) age groups. The gap is widest at age 90+, when the age-specific incidence rate is 3.7 times lower for females than males.

The age profile of cases is broadly similar to the above up to age 80-84, for in situ and uncertain or unknown behaviour bladder tumours.

Bladder Cancer (C67), Average Number of New Cases per Year and Age-Specific Incidence Rates per 100,000 Population, UK, 2017-2019

For bladder cancer, like most cancer types, incidence increases with age. This largely reflects cell DNA damage accumulating over time. Damage can result from biological processes or from exposure to risk factors. A drop or plateau in incidence in the oldest age groups often indicates reduced diagnostic activity perhaps due to general ill health.

See also

Bladder cancer mortality statistics by age

Bladder cancer survival by age

Cancer incidence statistics by age for all cancers

References

  1. Data were provided by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (part of Public Health England), on request through the Office for Data Release, July 2021. Similar data can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/cancerregistrationstatisticsengland/previousReleases
  2. Data were provided by ISD Scotland on request, April 2020. Similar data can be found here: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications.
  3. Data were published by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit, Health Intelligence Division, Public Health Wales https://phw.nhs.wales/services-and-teams/welsh-cancer-intelligence-and-surveillance-unit-wcisu/cancer-incidence-in-wales-2002-2018/, March 2021.
  4. Data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry on request, May 2020. Similar data can be found here: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/.

About this data

Data is for UK, 2017-2019, ICD-10 C67.

Last reviewed:

Bladder cancer European age-standardised (AS) Open a glossary item incidence rates for females and males combined decreased by 23% in the UK between 2000-2002 and 2017-2019.[1-4] The decrease was of a similar size in females and males.

For females, bladder cancer AS incidence rates in the UK decreased by 23% between 2000-2002 and 2017-2019. For males, bladder cancer AS incidence rates in the UK decreased by 27% between 2000-2002 and 2017-2019.

Over the last decade in the UK (between 2007-2009 and 2017-2019), bladder cancer AS incidence rates for females and males combined decreased by 16%. In females AS incidence rates decreased by 15%, and in males rates decreased by 18%.

Bladder Cancer (ICD-10 C67), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates, Persons Population, 2000 to 2019

Bladder cancer incidence rates have decreased overall in most broad age groups in females in the UK since the early 2000s, but have remained stable in some.[1-4] Rates in 0-24s have remained stable, in 25-49s have decreased by 27%, in 50-59s have decreased by 29%, in 60-69s have decreased by 32%, in 70-79s have decreased by 26% and in 80+s have decreased by 14%.

Bladder Cancer (ICD-10 C67), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates per 100,000 Female Population, By Age, UK, 2000-2019

Bladder cancer incidence rates have decreased overall in all broad age groups in males in the UK since the early 2000s.[1-4] Rates in 0-24s have decreased by 73%, in 25-49s have decreased by 35%, in 50-59s have decreased by 44%, in 60-69s have decreased by 38%, in 70-79s have decreased by 28% and in 80+s have decreased by 15%.

Bladder Cancer (ICD-10 C67), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates per 100,000 Male Population, By Age, UK, 2000-2019

Bladder cancer incidence trends are impacted by a coding change in 2000, so trends before this point are not reported. For bladder cancer, like most cancer types, incidence trends largely reflect changing prevalence of risk factors and improvements in diagnosis and data recording. Recent incidence trends are influenced by risk factor prevalence in years past, and trends by age group reflect risk factor exposure in birth cohorts. Changes in data registration probably also play a part. [5-6]

References

  1. England data were provided by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS), part of the National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) in NHS England, on request through the Office for Data Release, January 2023. Similar data can be found here: https://www.cancerdata.nhs.uk/ 

  2.  Northern Ireland data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) on request, October 2021. Similar data can be found here:http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/. 

  3. Welsh data were published by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (WCISU), Health Intelligence Division, Public Health Wales https://phw.nhs.wales/services-and-teams/welsh-cancer-intelligence-and-surveillance-unit-wcisu/cancer-reporting-tool-official-statistics/ June 2022. 

  4. Scotland data were provided by the Scottish Cancer Registry, Public Health Scotland (PHS) on request, May 2021. Similar data can be found here: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/show-all-releases?id=20468

  5. Shah A, Rachet B, Mitry E, et al. Survival from bladder cancer in England and Wales up to 2001. Br J Cancer 2008; 99(S1):S86-9 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18813272

  6. UK Association of Cancer Registries. Library of Recommendations on Cancer Coding and Classification Policy And Practice: Bladder Cancer. UKACR: Cambridge; 2004

About this data

Data is for UK, 1993-2019, ICD-10 C67.

Last reviewed:

The number of new bladder cancer cases on average each year in the UK is projected to rise from around 9,800 cases in 2023-2025 to around 10,700 cases in 2038-2040.[1]

Bladder cancer incidence rates are projected to fall by 14% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040, to 12 cases per 100,000 people on average each year by 2038-2040.[1] This includes a similar decrease for males and females.

For females, bladder cancer European age-standardised (AS) Open a glossary item incidence rates in the UK are projected to fall by 12% between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040, to 6 cases per 100,000 per year by 2038-2040.[1] For males, AS rates are projected to fall by 16% between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040, to 19 cases per 100,000 per year by 2038-2040.[1]

Bladder cancer (C67), Observed and Projected Age-Standardised Incidence Rates, by Sex, UK, 1993-2040

Download the data table (xlsx)

See also

Find out how these projections were calculated

Incidence trends over time for bladder cancer

Projections of incidence for all cancers combined

Bladder cancer risk

Download the projections data table

References

Calculated by the Cancer Intelligence Team at Cancer Research UK, February 2023. Age-period-cohort modelling approach described here, using 2020-based population projections (Office for National Statistics) and observed cancer incidence (1975-2018 for England, Scotland and Wales, 1993-2018 for Northern Ireland).

About this data

Projections are based on incidence data from 2001-2018 (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland); the above figure presents all UK data from 1993-2018 (observed) and 2019-2040 (projected). Number of new cases and age-standardised rates are presented as annual averages for each 3-year rolling period. ICD-10 codes C67.

Projections are based on observed incidence rates and therefore implicitly include changes in cancer risk factors and diagnosis. Confidence intervals are not calculated for the projected figures. Projections are by their nature uncertain because unexpected events in future could change the trend. It is not sensible to calculate a boundary of uncertainty around these already uncertain point estimates. Changes are described as 'increase' or 'decrease' if there is any difference between the point estimates.

More on projections methodology

Last reviewed:

Bladder cancer incidence rates (European age-standardised (AS) rates) Open a glossary item in England in females are 47% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least, and in males are 23% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017).[1]

It is estimated that there are around 980 more cases of bladder cancer each year in England than there would be if every deprivation quintile had the same age-specific crude incidence rates as the least deprived quintile. around 370 of these cases are in females, and around 610 in males.

Bladder Cancer (C67), Estimated Average Number of Excess Cases per Year and European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates per 100,000 Population, by Deprivation Quintile, England, 2013-2017

See also

Data table: Cancer incidence rates and excess cases by cancer type in England

Incidence by deprivation for all cancer types combined

Bladder cancer mortality by deprivation  (not directly comparable with incidence by deprivation)

Cancer incidence by deprivation for Scotland

Cancer incidence by deprivation for Wales

Cancer incidence by deprivation for Northern Ireland

References

  1. Calculated by the Cancer Intelligence Team at Cancer Research UK, April 2020. Based on method reported in National Cancer Intelligence Network Cancer by Deprivation in England Incidence, 1996-2010 Mortality, 1997-2011 . Using cancer incidence data 2013-2017 (Public Health England) and population data 2013-2017 (Office for National Statistics) by Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2015 income domain quintile, cancer type, sex, and five-year age band.

About this data

Data is for England, 2013-2017, ICD-10 C21.

Last reviewed:

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Cancer stats explained

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