Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, accounting for 15% of all new cancer cases (2017-2019).[1-4]
In females in the UK, breast cancer is the most common cancer (30% of all new female cancer cases). In males in the UK, it is not among the 20 most common cancers (less than 1% of all new male cancer cases).
99% of breast cancer cases in the UK are in females, and 1% are in males.
Breast cancer incidence rates (European age-standardised
For breast cancer, like most cancer types, differences between countries largely reflect risk factor prevalence in years past.
Breast Cancer (C50), 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 | 47,291 | 4,872 | 2,772 | 1,494 | 56,428 |
Crude Rate | 167.1 | 174.5 | 174.2 | 156.3 | 167.7 | |
AS Rate | 170.3 | 169.1 | 165.1 | 166.4 | 169.9 | |
AS Rate - 95% LCL | 169.4 | 166.3 | 161.5 | 161.6 | 169.1 | |
AS Rate - 95% UCL | 171.2 | 171.8 | 168.6 | 171.3 | 170.7 | |
Male | Cases | 333 | 30 | 18 | 12 | 394 |
Crude Rate | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.2 | |
AS Rate | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 1.4 | |
AS Rate - 95% LCL | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.3 | |
AS Rate - 95% UCL | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 1.4 | |
Persons | Cases | 47,624 | 4,902 | 2,790 | 1,506 | 56,822 |
Crude Rate | 85.1 | 90.1 | 88.9 | 80.0 | 85.5 | |
AS Rate | 89.9 | 90.7 | 87.4 | 88.7 | 89.9 | |
AS Rate - 95% LCL | 89.5 | 89.2 | 85.5 | 86.1 | 89.4 | |
AS Rate - 95% UCL | 90.4 | 92.2 | 89.3 | 91.3 | 90.3 |
References
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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/
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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/.
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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.
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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
About this data
Data is for UK, 2017-2019, ICD-10 C50.