Cervical cancer incidence statistics

Cervical cancer is the 14th most common cancer in females in the UK, accounting for 2% of all new cancer cases in females (2017-2019). In females and males combined, cervical cancer is not among the 20 most common cancers in the UK, accounting for less than 1% of all new cancer cases (2017-2019).[1-4]

Cervical cancer incidence rates (European age-standardised (AS) rate Open a glossary item) for females are significantly higher than the UK average in Scotland and are similar to the UK average in all other UK constituent countries.

For cervical cancer, like most cancer types, differences between countries largely reflect risk factor prevalence in years past.

Cervical Cancer (C53), Average Number of New Cases Per Year, Crude and European Age-Standardised (AS) Incidence Rates per 100,000 Female Population, UK, 2017-2019

  England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland UK
Female Cases 2,688 326 159 84 3,256
Crude Rate 9.5 11.7 10.0 8.8 9.7
AS Rate 9.7 11.8 10.4 9.1 9.9
AS Rate - 95% LCL 9.5 11.0 9.5 7.9 9.7
AS Rate - 95% UCL 9.9 12.5 11.3 10.2 10.1
Persons Cases 2,688 326 159 84 3,256
Crude Rate 4.8 6.0 5.1 4.4 4.9
AS Rate 4.9 6.1 5.3 4.7 5.0
AS Rate - 95% LCL 4.8 5.7 4.8 4.1 4.9
AS Rate - 95% UCL 5.0 6.5 5.8 5.3 5.1
95% LCL and 95% UCL are the 95% lower and upper confidence limits around the AS Rate Open a glossary item

References

  1. England data were provided by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS), part of the National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) in NHS England, on request through the Office for Data Release, January 2023. Similar data can be found here: https://www.cancerdata.nhs.uk/ 

  2.  Northern Ireland data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) on request, October 2021. Similar data can be found here:http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/. 

  3. Welsh data were published by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (WCISU), Health Intelligence Division, Public Health Wales https://phw.nhs.wales/services-and-teams/welsh-cancer-intelligence-and-surveillance-unit-wcisu/cancer-reporting-tool-official-statistics/ June 2022. 

  4. Scotland data were provided by the Scottish Cancer Registry, Public Health Scotland (PHS) on request, May 2021. Similar data can be found here: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/show-all-releases?id=20468

About this data

Data is for UK, 2017-2019, ICD-10 C53.

Last reviewed:

In the UK in 2017-2019, on average each year around a tenth of new cases (9%) were in females aged 75 and over.[1-5 ] This is a lower proportion of cases in older age groups compared with most cancers.

Age-specific incidence rates rise sharply from age 15-19 and peak in the 30-34 age group, then rates drop and slightly fluctuate. The highest rates are in the 30 to 34 age group.

Cervical Cancer (C53), Average Number of New Cases per Year and Age-Specific Incidence Rates per 100,000 Female Population, UK, 2017-2019

For cervical cancer, incidence increases rapidly from age 25 when routine screening starts, with a dip thereafter. This reflects both the diagnosis of prevalent cases at first-time screening, prevention of a high proportion of incident cases in the ongoing screening age group, and the likely peak of HPV exposure in early adulthood. Incidence starts to rise again around ten years after age 64 when routine screening ends, which may be a return to the rates expected in this age group without the preventive effect of screening. The overall decrease in incidence with increasing age reflects lower levels of HPV infection in older people.

See also

Cervical cancer mortality statistics by age

Cancer incidence statistics by age for all cancers

Cervical screening

References

  1. England data were provided by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS), part of the National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) in NHS England, on request through the Office for Data Release, January 2023. Similar data can be found here: https://www.cancerdata.nhs.uk/ 

  2.  Northern Ireland data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) on request, October 2021. Similar data can be found here:http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/. 

  3. Welsh data were published by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (WCISU), Health Intelligence Division, Public Health Wales https://phw.nhs.wales/services-and-teams/welsh-cancer-intelligence-and-surveillance-unit-wcisu/cancer-reporting-tool-official-statistics/ June 2022. 

  4. Scotland data were provided by the Scottish Cancer Registry, Public Health Scotland (PHS) on request, May 2021. Similar data can be found here: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/show-all-releases?id=20468

About this data

Data is for UK, 2017-2019, C53.

Last reviewed:

Cervical cancer European age-standardised (AS) Open a glossary item incidence rates for females decreased by 24% in the UK between 1993-1995 and 2017-2019.[1-4]

Over the last decade in the UK (between 2007-2009 and 2017-2019), cervical cancer AS incidence rates for females remained stable.

Cervical Cancer (ICD-10 C53), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates, Female Population, 1993 to 2019

Cervical Cancer (ICD-10 C53), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates per 100,000 Female Population, By Age, UK, 1993-2019

Cervical cancer incidence rates have varied between age groups in females in the UK since the early 1990s.[1-4] Rates in 0-19s have remained stable, in 20-24s have remained stable, in 25-34s have increased by 35% (though the increase was only in the period before women who recieved routine human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine reached this age group), in 35-49s have decreased by 13%, in 50-64s have decreased by 33%, in 65-79s have decreased by 58% and in 80+s have decreased by 45%.

Cervical Cancer (ICD-10 C53), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates per 100,000 Female Population, By Age, UK, 1993-2019

Cervical cancer incidence trends probably reflect the effective implementation of the UK cervical screening programmes in the late 1980s. [5] Cervical screening aims to prevent cancer developing by detecting early-stage cell changes (e.g. in situ cervical carcinoma). Changing prevalence of risk factors probably also plays a part, particularly among younger women in more recent years. [5] The impact of HPV vaccination is difficult to ascertain in these trends so far, as the oldest routinely HPV-vaccinated women in the UK are in their late 20s.

References

  1. England data were provided by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS), part of the National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) in NHS England, on request through the Office for Data Release, January 2023. Similar data can be found here: https://www.cancerdata.nhs.uk/ 

  2.  Northern Ireland data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) on request, October 2021. Similar data can be found here:http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/. 

  3. Welsh data were published by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (WCISU), Health Intelligence Division, Public Health Wales https://phw.nhs.wales/services-and-teams/welsh-cancer-intelligence-and-surveillance-unit-wcisu/cancer-reporting-tool-official-statistics/ June 2022. 

  4. Scotland data were provided by the Scottish Cancer Registry, Public Health Scotland (PHS) on request, May 2021. Similar data can be found here: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/show-all-releases?id=20468

  5. Pesola F and Sasieni P. Impact of screening on cervical cancer incidence in England: a time trend analysis. BMJ 2019; 9(1) e026292. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30679300

About this data

Data is for UK, 1993-2019, ICD-10 C53.

Last reviewed:

Projections of cervical cancer incidence are complex because there are many variables involved, including changing uptake and format of cervical screening and HPV vaccinations. Projections which take into account the expected impact of HPV vaccination indicate that cervical cancer incidence rates will fall in future decades.[1] Projections which reflect past trends in cancer incidence, but do not model the possible impact of HPV vaccination, suggest that cervical cancer incidence will rise in future decades;[2] these may act as a benchmark for evaluating the impact of HPV vaccination.

References

1. Castanon A, Landy R, Pesola F, Windridge P, Sasieni P. Prediction of cervical cancer incidence in England, UK, up to 2040, under four scenarios: a modelling study. Lancet Public Health 2018;3(1):e34-e43.

2. Smittenaar CR, Petersen KA, Stewart K, Moitt N. Cancer Incidence and Mortality Projections in the UK Until 2035. Brit J Cancer 2016.

Last reviewed:

Cervical cancer incidence rates (European age-standardised (AS) rates Open a glossary item) in England in females are 65% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017).[1]

It is estimated that there are around 520 more cases of cervical cancer each year in England than there would be if every deprivation quintile had the same age-specific crude incidence rates as the least deprived quintile.

Cervical Cancer (C53), Estimated Average Number of Excess Cases per Year and European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates per 100,000 Population, by Deprivation Quintile, England, 2013-2017

See also

Data table: Cancer incidence rates and excess cases by cancer type in England

Incidence by deprivation for all cancer types combined

Cervical 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

  1. 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:

An estimated 34,800 women who had been diagnosed with cervical cancer between 1991 and 2010 were alive in the UK at the end of 2010.[1]

See also

Cervical cancer incidence statistics by sex and UK country

What is prevalence?

References

  1. 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 C53

Last reviewed:

Cancer stats explained

See information and explanations on terminology used for statistics and reporting of cancer, and the methods used to calculate some of our statistics.

Cancer stats explained

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