Cancer of unknown primary statistics

Cases

New cases of cancer of unknown primary each year, 2016-2018 average, UK.

Deaths

Deaths from cancer of unknown primary, 2017-2019, UK.

  • There are around 8,600 new cancer of unknown primary cases in the UK every year, that's 24 every day (2016-2018).
  • Cancer of unknown primary is the 15th most common cancer in the UK, accounting for 2% of all new cancer cases (2016-2018).
  • In females in the UK, cancer of unknown primary is the 11th most common cancer, with around 4,400 new cases every year (2016-2018).
  • In males in the UK, cancer of unknown primary is the 14th most common cancer, with around 4,200 new cases every year (2016-2018).
  • Incidence rates for cancer of unknown primary in the UK are highest in people aged 90+ (2016-2018).
  • Each year almost 6 in 10 (57%) of all new cancer of unknown primary cases in the UK are diagnosed in people aged 75 and over (2016-2018).
  • Since the early 1990s, cancer of unknown primary incidence rates have decreased by almost three-fifths (57%) in the UK. Rates in females have decreased by almost three-fifths (55%), and rates in males have decreased by three-fifths (60%) (2016-2018).
  • Over the last decade, cancer of unknown primary incidence rates have decreased by a third (33%) in the UK. Rates in females have decreased by around a third (34%), and rates in males have decreased by a third (33%) (2016-2018).
  • Cancers of unknown primary incidence rates are projected to fall by 13% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around 8,200 new cases of cancers of unknown primary every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Some cancers of unknown primary have the location of their secondary/metastatic growth recorded. Most cancers of unknown primary in the UK do not have a specific location recorded (2016-2018).
  • Cancer of unknown primary incidence rates in England in females are 58% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least, and in males are 65% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017).
  • Around 1,400 cases of cancer of unknown primary each year in England are linked with deprivation (around 620 in females and around 780 in males).
  • Incidence rates for cancer of unknown primary are lower in the Asian and Black ethnic groups, compared with the White ethnic group, in England (2013-2017). See our publication Cancer Incidence by Broad Ethnic Group for more details.
  • An estimated 12,500 people who had previously been diagnosed with cancer of unknown primary (CUP) were alive in the UK at the end of 2010.

See more in-depth cancer of unknown primary incidence statistics

  • There are around 9,500 cancer of unknown primary deaths in the UK every year, that's 26 every day (2017-2019).
  • Cancer of unknown primary is the 6th most common cause of cancer death in the UK, accounting for 6% of all cancer deaths (2017-2019).
  • In females in the UK, cancer of unknown primary is the 4th most common cause of cancer death, with around 5,000 deaths every year (2017-2019).
  • In males in the UK, cancer of unknown primary is the 6th most common cause of cancer death, with around 4,500 deaths every year (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for cancer of unknown primary in the UK are highest in people aged 90+ (2017-2019).
  • Each year 6 in 10 of all cancer of unknown primary deaths (60%) in the UK are in people aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the early 1970s, cancer of unknown primary mortality rates have increased by almost three-quarters (73%) in the UK. Rates in females have increased by almost nine-tenths (85%), and rates in males have increased by around three-fifths (59%) (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, cancer of unknown primary mortality rates have decreased by more than a quarter (29%) in the UK. Rates in females have decreased by more than a quarter (28%), and rates in males have decreased by around a third (32%) (2017-2019).
  • Cancer of unknown primary deaths in England are more common in females living in the most deprived areas.
  • Cancers of unknown primary mortality rates are projected to fall by 13% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around around 10,000 deaths of cancers of unknown primary every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.

See more in-depth cancer of unknown primary mortality statistics

  • 1 in 95 UK females and 1 in 95 UK males will be diagnosed with cancer of unknown primary in their lifetime (born in 1961).

See the interactive cancer treatment online tool produced by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS) in partnership with Cancer Research UK (CRUK). This presents, for the first time, population-based statistics on chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgical tumour resections in England, by demographic factors and geography.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the many organisations across the UK which collect, analyse, and share the data which we use, and to the patients and public who consent for their data to be used. Find out more about the sources which are essential for our statistics.