Cancer mortality for all cancers combined

All cancers combined is the most common cause of death in the UK, accounting for more than a quarter (28%) all deaths (2016).[1-6]

In males in the UK, all cancers combined is the most common cause of death in the UK as a whole (30% of all male deaths), and in the UK countries separately (30% in England and Wales, 30% in Scotland, 31% in Northern Ireland). In females in the UK all cancers combined is the most common cause of death in the UK as a whole (26% of all female deaths), and in the UK countries separately (26% in England and Wales 26% in Scotland, 27% in Northern Ireland).

53% of deaths for all cancers combined in the UK are in males, and 47% are in females. This reflects the sex differences in cancer incidence (higher in men than women) and survival (higher in women than men).

All cancers combined mortality rates (European age-standardised (AS) rates ) for persons are significantly higher than the UK average in Northern Ireland and Scotland, significantly lower than the UK average in England, and similar to the UK average in Wales.

All Cancers Combined (C00-C97), Number of Deaths, Crude and European Age-Standardised (AS) Mortality Rates per 100,000 Population, UK, 2016

95% LCL and 95% UCL are the 95% lower and upper confidence limits  around the AS Rate

For all cancers combined, mortality differences between countries reflect something other than differences in incidence.​

All cancers combined European age-standardised (AS) mortality rates for males and females combined decreased by 16% in the UK between 1971-1973 and 2014-2016.[1-3] The decrease was larger in males than in females. Decreasing mortality is largely due to improved survival – and is despite a small increase in incidence rates.

For males, all cancers combined AS mortality rates in the UK decreased by 24% between 1971-1973 and 2014-2016. For females, all cancers combined AS mortality rates in the UK decreased by 10% between 1971-1973 and 2014-2016.

Over the last decade in the UK (between 2004-2006 and 2014-2016), all cancers combined AS mortality rates for males and females combined decreased by 9%.[1-3] In males AS mortality rates decreased by 12%, and in females rates decreased by 8%.

All Cancers (C00-97), European Age-Standardised Mortality Rates per 100,000 Population, UK, 1971-2016

An estimated 832,000 cancer deaths had been avoided in the UK by 2016 because mortality rates dropped from their peak levels in the 1980s.[1] 

This includes around 561,000 male deaths avoided since the male mortality rate peaked in 1985, and around 271,000 female deaths avoided since the female mortality rate peaked in 1989.

All Cancers Combined (C00-C97), Observed Deaths, and Expected Deaths if Mortality Rates Had Not Fallen from Peak, UK, 1979-2016

All cancers combined mortality rates are projected to fall by 15% in the UK between 2014 and 2035, to 280 deaths per 100,000 people by 2035.[1] This includes a larger decrease for males than for females.

For males, all cancers combined European age standardised (AS) mortality rates in the UK are projected to fall by 18% between 2014 and 2035, to 330 per 100,000 by 2035.[1] For females, rates are projected to fall by 15% between 2014 and 2035, to 239 per 100,000 by 2035.[1]

All Cancers (Excluding Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer, and Including Benign and Uncertain or Unknown Behaviour Brain, other Central Nervous System and Intracranial Tumours: ICD-10 C00-C97 excluding C44, plus D32-D33, D35.2-D35.4, D42-D43, and D44.3-D44), Observed and Projected Age-Standardised Mortality Rates, by Sex, UK, 1979-2035

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It is projected that 212,546 deaths from all cancers combined (116,585 in males, 95,961 in females) will occur in the UK in 2035.

Cancer is the leading cause of death in the UK for males and females aged 1 and older. Cancer accounted for 27% of all deaths in the UK in 2015.[1-3]

Cancer is the leading cause of death in both sexes for all broad age groups except for 15-24 year old males and females and 25-34 and 35-44 year old males (leading cause of death is accidents).[1-3]

The Four Most Common Causes of Death by ICD-10 Chapters, Persons Aged 1 and older, UK, 2015

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The UK mortality rate in males is lower (9%) than the European Union (126 and 139 per 100,000, respectively), but is higher (13%) in females in the UK than in the European Union (EU) (97 and 86 per 100,000, respectively).[1]

The mortality rate for all cancers combined for males in the UK is lower (9%) than in the More Developed Regions (MDRs) of the world (126 and 138 per 100,000, respectively), but is higher (13%) for females in the UK than in the MDRs (97 and 86 per 100,000, respectively).[1]

The mortality rates for all cancers combined for both sexes in the UK are higher (5% in males and 22% in females) than the Less Developed Regions (LDRs) of the world (120 and 80 per 100,000 for males and females, respectively).[1]

The four most common causes of cancer death worldwide; lung, liver, stomach, and bowel cancers, are different to the most common causes of cancer death in the UK.[1]