Head and neck cancers mortality statistics

Deaths

Deaths from head and neck cancer, 2017-2019, UK.

 

Percentage of all deaths

Percentage head and neck cancer contributes to total cancer deaths, 2017-2019, UK

 

Age

Peak mortality rate for head and neck cancer, 2017-2019, UK

Trend over time

Change in head and neck cancer mortality rates since the early 1970s, UK

Head and neck cancer is the 15th most common cause of cancer death in the UK, accounting for 2% of all cancer deaths (2017-2019).[1-4]

In females in the UK, head and neck cancer is the 17th most common cause of cancer death (2% of all female cancer deaths). In males in the UK, it is the 10th most common cause of cancer death (3% of all male cancer deaths).

29% of head and neck cancer deaths in the UK are in females, and 71% are in males (2017-2019).

Head and neck cancer mortality rates (European age-standardised Open a glossary item (AS) rates) in the UK are significantly lower in females than in males (2017-2019).

Head and neck cancer mortality rates (European age-standardised Open a glossary item (AS) rates) for persons are significantly higher than the UK average in Scotland and Northern Ireland, significantly lower than the UK average in England, and similar to the UK average in Wales.

For head and neck cancer, mortality differences between countries largely reflect differences in incidence.

Head and Neck Cancer (C00-C14, C30-C32), Annual Average Number of Deaths, Crude and European Age-Standardised (AS) Mortality Rates per 100,000 Persons Population, UK, 2017-2019

  England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland UK
Female Deaths 955 147 61 42 1,205
Crude Rate 3.4 5.3 3.8 4.4 3.6
AS Rate 3.3 5.1 3.4 4.7 3.5
AS Rate - 95% LCL 3.2 4.6 2.9 3.9 3.4
AS Rate - 95% UCL 3.5 5.5 3.9 5.5 3.6
Male Deaths 2,309 368 167 94 2,939
Crude Rate 8.3 13.9 10.8 10.2 9.0
AS Rate 9.5 15.3 11.0 12.4 10.2
AS Rate - 95% LCL 9.3 14.4 10.0 11.0 9.9
AS Rate - 95% UCL 9.7 16.2 11.9 13.9 10.4
Persons Deaths 3,264 516 227 136 4,143
Crude Rate 5.8 9.5 7.2 7.2 6.2
AS Rate 6.2 9.7 6.9 8.3 6.6
AS Rate - 95% LCL 6.1 9.2 6.4 7.5 6.5
AS Rate - 95% UCL 6.3 10.2 7.5 9.1 6.7

95% LCL and 95% UCL are the 95% lower and upper confidence limits around the AS Rate Open a glossary item

See also

Laryngeal cancer incidence statistics by sex and UK region

Head and neck cancers survival statistics

Oral cancer incidence statistics by sex and UK region

Cancer mortality statistics for common cancers in the UK

References

  1. England and Wales data were accessed from Nomis mortality statistics by underlying cause, sex and age, November 2021: Nomis mortality statistics by underlying cause, sex and age.
  2. Scotland data were provided by ISD Scotland on request, November 2021. Similar data can be found here: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications/index.asp(link is external).
  3. Northern Ireland data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry on request, February 2022. Similar data can be found here: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/.
  4. Population data were published by the Office for National statistics, accessed July 2020. The data can be found here: Population estimates for the UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, provisional: mid-2019.

About this data

Data is for UK, 2017-2019, C00-C14, C30-C32.

Last reviewed:

Head and neck cancer mortality is strongly related to age, with the highest mortality rates being in older people. In the UK in 2017-2019, on average each year more than a third of deaths (36%) were in people aged 75 and over.[1-4] This is a lower proportion of deaths in older age groups compared with most cancers.

Age-specific mortality rates rise steadily from around age 40-44 and more steeply (more so in males) from around age 80-84. The highest rates are in the 90+ age group for both females and males. Mortality rates are significantly lower in females than males in a number of (mainly older) age groups. The gap is widest at age 50 to 54, when the age-specific mortality rate is 3.4 times lower in females than males.

Head and Neck Cancer (C00-C14, C30-C32), Average Number of Deaths per Year and Age-Specific Mortality Rates per 100,000 Persons Population, UK, 2017-2019

See also

Head and neck cancers incidence statistics by age

Head and neck cancers survival statistics by age

Cancer mortality statistics by age for all cancers in the UK

References

  1. England and Wales data were accessed from Nomis mortality statistics by underlying cause, sex and age, November 2021: Nomis mortality statistics by underlying cause, sex and age.
  2. Scotland data were provided by ISD Scotland on request, November 2021. Similar data can be found here: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications/index.asp(link is external).
  3. Northern Ireland data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry on request, February 2022. Similar data can be found here: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/.
  4. Population data were published by the Office for National statistics, accessed July 2020. The data can be found here: Population estimates for the UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, provisional: mid-2019.

About this data

Data is for UK, 2017-2019, ICD-10 C00-C14, C30-C32.

Last reviewed:

Head and neck cancer European age-standardised Open a glossary item(AS) rates for females and males combined decreased by 9% in the UK between 1971-1973 and 2017-2019.[1-4] The decrease was of a similar size in females and males.

For females, head and neck cancer AS mortality rates in the UK decreased by 14% between 1971-1973 and 2017-2019. For males, head and neck cancer AS mortality rates in the UK decreased by 20% between 1971-1973 and 2017-2019.

Over the last decade in the UK (between 2007-2009 and 2017-2019), head and neck cancer AS mortality rates for females and males combined increased by 15%. In females AS mortality rates increased by 12%, and in males rates increased by 15%.

Head and Neck Cancer (C00-C14, C30-C32), European Age-Standardised Mortality Rates per 100,000 Persons Population, UK, 1971-2019

For most cancer types, mortality trends largely reflect incidence and survival trends. For example, rising mortality may reflect rising incidence and stable survival, while falling mortality may reflect rising incidence and rising survival.

Head and neck cancer mortality rates have decreased overall in some broad age groups in females in the UK since the early 1970s, but have remained stable in others.[1-4] Rates in 0-24s have decreased by 91% (though the absolute change is very small as rates are overall low in this age group), in 25-49s have decreased by 33%, in 50-59s have decreased by 26%, in 60-69s have remained stable, in 70-79s have remained stable and in 80+s have decreased by 16%.

Head and Neck Cancer (C00-C14, C30-C32), European Age-Standardised Mortality Rates per 100,000 Female Population, By Age, UK, 1971-2019

Head and neck cancer mortality rates have varied between age groups in males in the UK since the early 1970s.[1-4] Rates in 0-24s have decreased by 68% (though the absolute change is very small as rates are overall low in this age group), in 25-49s have remained stable, in 50-59s have remained stable, in 60-69s have increased by 16%, in 70-79s have decreased by 30% and in 80+s have decreased by 44%.

Head and Neck Cancer (C00-C14, C30-C32), European Age-Standardised Mortality Rates per 100,000 Male Population, By Age, UK, 1971-2019

See also

Laryngeal cancer incidence trends over time

Laryngeal cancer survival trends over time

Laryngeal cancer risk factors

References

  1. Data were provided by the Office for National Statistics on request, November 2019. Similar data can be found here: http://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths.
  2. Data were provided by ISD Scotland on request, October 2019. Similar data can be found here: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications/index.asp.
  3. Data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry on request, June 2020. Similar data can be found here: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/.

About this data

Data is for UK, 1971-2019, C00-C14, C30-C32.

Cancers in children and young people (aged 0-24) are best classified using a different system to cancers in adults, so the figures presented here may not correspond with those elsewhere.

Last reviewed:

It is projected that the average number of deaths from head and neck cancer in the UK every year will rise from around 5,000 deaths in 2023-2025 to around 6,700 deaths in 2038-2040.[1]

Head and neck cancer mortality rates are projected to rise by 12% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040, to 8 deaths per 100,000 people on average each year by 2038-2040.[1] This includes a similar increase for males and females.

For females, head and neck cancer European age standardised (AS) Open a glossary item mortality rates in the UK are projected to rise by 13% between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040, to 4 deaths per 100,000 per year by 2038-2040.[1] For males, AS rates are projected to rise by 12% between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040, to 13 deaths per 100,000 per year by 2038-2040.[1]

Head and neck cancer (C00-C14, C30-C32), Observed and Projected Age-Standardised Mortality Rates, by Sex, UK, 1975-2040

Download the data (xlsx)

See also

Find out how these projections were calculated

Mortality trends over time for head and neck cancers

Projections of mortality for all cancers combined

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 mortality data (1975-2018).

About this data

Projections are based on mortality data from 1975-2018 (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland); the above figure presents all UK data from 1975-2018 (observed) and 2019-2040 (projected). Number of deaths and age-standardised rates are presented as annual averages for each 3-year rolling period. ICD-10 codes C00-C14, C30-C32.

Projections are based on observed mortality rates and therefore implicitly include changes in cancer risk factors, diagnosis and treatment. 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:

Overall there is evidence for an association between oral cavity cancer mortality and deprivation for both males and females in England, however, there is no association between laryngeal cancer mortality and deprivation for females in England.[1] England-wide data for 2007-2011 show European age-standardised Open a glossary item mortality rates are 218-298% higher for males living in the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived, and 59-257% higher for females.[1]

Head and Neck Cancer Subtypes, European Age-Standardised Mortality Rates by Deprivation Quintile, Males England, 2007-2011

Head and Neck Cancer Subtypes, European Age-Standardised Mortality Rates by Deprivation Quintile, Females England, 2007-2011

The estimated deprivation gradient in head and neck cancer mortality for males and females living in the most and least deprived areas in England has not changed in the period 2002-2011.[1] It has been estimated that there would have been around 190-260 fewer cancer deaths each year in England during 2007-2011 if all people experienced the same mortality rates as the least deprived.[1]

See also

Deprivation gradient for cancer mortality

Socio-economic variation in cancer mortality for Scotland

Socio-economic variation in cancer mortality for Wales

Socio-economic variation in cancer mortality for Northern Ireland

References

  1. Cancer Research UK and National Cancer Intelligence Network. Cancer by deprivation in England: Incidence, 1996-2010, Mortality, 1997-2011. London: NCIN; 2014.

About this data

Data is for England, 2006-2010, Head and Neck cancer, ICD-10 codes (C01 and C09-C10, C02-C04 and C32)

Deprivation gradient statistics were calculated using mortality data for 2007-2011. The deprivation quintiles were calculated using the Income domain scores from the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) from the following years: 2004, 2007 and 2010. Full details on the data and methodology can be found in the Cancer by Deprivation in England NCIN report.

Last reviewed:

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