Bowel cancer incidence statistics
Bowel cancer incidence by gender and UK country
| Bowel cancer accounts for 11% of all new cancer cases in the UK, with around 19,600 new cases in females and around 24,500 new cases in males every year (2017-2019). |
Bowel cancer incidence by age
| Incidence rates for bowel cancer are highest in people aged 85 to 89 in the UK, with 1 in 10 (10%) of all new bowel cancer cases diagnosed in this age group (2017-2019). |
Bowel cancer incidence trends over time
| Bowel cancer incidence rates have remained stable in the UK since the early 1990s and rates have decreased by around a twentieth (6%) in the last decade (2017-2019). |
Bowel cancer incidence projections
| Bowel cancer incidence rates in the UK are projected to decrease by 8% between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040, with around 47,700 new cases each year by 2038-2040. |
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The most common specific location for bowel cancers in the UK is the rectum (2016-2018).[1-4] Variation of incidence by anatomical site may reflect the physical size of each site, and differences in risk factor exposure by site, among other factors. Cases and percentages may not sum due to rounding |
See also
Find out more about the counting and coding of this data
Bowel cancer incidence by sex statistics
References
- Data were provided by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (part of Public Health England), on request through the Office for Data Release, July 2021. Similar data can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk
- Data were provided by ISD Scotland on request, April 2020. Similar data can be found here: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications
- Data were published by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit, Health Intelligence Division, Public Health Wales, March 2021. https://phw.nhs.wales/services-and-teams/welsh-cancer-intelligence-and-surveillance-unit-wcisu/cancer-incidence-in-wales-2002-2018/
- 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, 2016-2018, ICD-10 C18-C20. For some cases the specific location of the cancer is not recorded, this may be due to clinical or data recording factors.
Last reviewed: 11 March 2022
Bowel cancer incidence rates (European age-standardised (AS) rates) in England in females are similar in the most deprived quintile compared with the least, and in males are 9% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017).[1]
It is estimated that there are around 630 more cases of bowel cancer each year in males in England than there would be if every deprivation quintile had the same age-specific crude incidence rates as the least deprived quintile.
No data are shown for females as the difference in age-standardised incidence rates between most and least deprived quintiles is not significant for females.
See also
Data table: Cancer incidence rates and excess cases by cancer type in England
Incidence by deprivation for all cancer types combined
Bowel cancer mortality by deprivation (not directly comparable with incidence by deprivation)
Cancer incidence by deprivation for Scotland
Cancer incidence by deprivation for Wales
Cancer incidence by deprivation for Northern Ireland
References
- Calculated by the Cancer Intelligence Team at Cancer Research UK, April 2020. Based on method reported in National Cancer Intelligence Network Cancer by Deprivation in England Incidence, 1996-2010 Mortality, 1997-2011 . Using cancer incidence data 2013-2017 (Public Health England) and population data 2013-2017 (Office for National Statistics) by Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2015 income domain quintile, cancer type, sex, and five-year age band.
About this data
Data is for England, 2013-2017, ICD-10 C21.
Last reviewed: 30 September 2020
An estimated 230,200 people who had been diagnosed with bowel cancer between 1991 and 2010 were alive in the UK at the end of 2010.[1]
See also
Bowel cancer incidence statistics by sex and UK country
References
- Macmillan Cancer Support and National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service. Cancer Prevalence UK Data Tables London: NCRAS; 2015.
About this data
Data is for: Great Britain (1991-2010) and Northern Ireland (1993-2010), ICD-10 C18-C20.
Last reviewed: 27 July 2017
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