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Health professionalData and StatisticsCancer StatisticsStatistics by cancer typeLung cancer statisticsLung cancer mortality statistics| Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK, with around 33,100 deaths every year. Mortality rates are higher in males, making it the most common cause of cancer death in this demographic. |
| Mortality rates for lung cancer in the UK are highest in people aged 85 to 89, with around 10.5% of all lung cancer deaths occurring in this age group (2021-2023). |
| Lung cancer mortality rates have decreased by almost two-fifths (39%) in the UK since the early 1970s, and rates have decreased by around a fifth (21%) in the last decade (2021-2023). |
| Lung cancer mortality rates in the UK are projected to decrease by 8% between 2024-2026 and 2038-2040, with around 41,500 deaths each year by 2038-2040. |
Further mortality by deprivation statistics and charts can be found on the Cancer Research UK's Cancer Statistics Data Hub.
An estimated 668,000 lung cancer deaths have been avoided in the UK by 2021 because mortality rates dropped from their peak levels in the 1970s for males and 2000s for females [1-4].
This includes more than 653,000 male deaths avoided since the male mortality rate peaked in 1979, and around 14,300 female deaths avoided since the female mortality rate peaked in 2008.
Lung Cancer (C33-C44), Observed Deaths, and Expected Deaths if Mortality Rates Had Not Fallen from Peak, UK, 1971-2021
Data is for UK, 1971-2021, ICD-10 C33-C34.
The number of avoided lung cancer deaths is estimated by comparing the actual number of lung cancer deaths observed, with the number of lung cancer deaths expected if mortality rates had not fallen from their overall peak. The number of lung cancer deaths expected is calculated by subtracting the number of observed lung cancer deaths from the number of expected lung cancer deaths. Expected lung cancer deaths is calculated by applying age- and sex-specific lung cancer mortality rates from the year in which age- and nation-specific lung cancer age-standardised mortality rates peaked, to corresponding population figures.
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