Prostate cancer statistics

Cases

New cases of prostate cancer each year, 2016-2018 average, UK

Deaths

Deaths from prostate cancer, 2017-2019, UK.

 

Survival

Survive prostate cancer for 10 or more years, 2013-2017, England

Prevention

Preventable cases of prostate cancer are not known as it is not clearly linked to any preventable risk factors

  • There are around 52,300 new prostate cancer cases in the UK every year, that's more than 140 every day (2016-2018).
  • In males in the UK, prostate cancer is the most common cancer, with around 52,300 new cases every year (2016-2018).
  • Prostate cancer accounts for 27% of all new cancer cases in males in the UK (2016-2018).
  • Prostate cancer accounts for 14% of all new cancer cases in females and males combined in the UK (2016-2018).
  • Incidence rates for prostate cancer in the UK are highest in males aged 75 to 79 (2016-2018).
  • Each year around a third (34%) of all new prostate cancer cases in the UK are diagnosed in males aged 75 and over (2016-2018).
  • Since the early 1990s, prostate cancer incidence rates have increased by almost half (48%) in males in the UK (2016-2018).
  • Over the last decade, prostate cancer incidence rates have increased by almost a tenth (8%) in males in the UK (2016-2018).
  • See our new Early Diagnosis Data Hub for statistics on stage at diagnosis for prostate cancer.
  • Prostate cancer incidence rates are projected to rise by 15% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around 85,100 new cases of prostate cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Prostate cancer incidence rates in males in England are 17% lower in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017).
  • Around 3,100 cases of prostate cancer each year in England are linked with lower deprivation.
  • Incidence rates for prostate cancer are lower in the Asian ethnic group and in people of mixed or multiple ethnicity, but higher in the Black ethnic group, compared with the White ethnic group, in males in England (2013-2017). See our publication Cancer Incidence by Broad Ethnic Group for more details.
  • An estimated 280,500 men who had previously been diagnosed with prostate cancer were alive in the UK at the end of 2010.

See more in-depth prostate cancer incidence statistics

  • There are around 12,000 prostate cancer deaths in the UK every year, that's 33 every day (2017-2019).
  • Prostate cancer is the the 2nd most common cause of cancer death in males in the UK, accounting for 14% of all cancer deaths in males in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Prostate cancer accounts for 7% of all cancer deaths in females and males combined in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for prostate cancer in the UK are highest in males aged 90+ (2017-2019).
  • Each year three-quarters of all prostate cancer deaths (75%) in the UK are in males aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the early 1970s, prostate cancer mortality rates have increased by almost a sixth (16%) in males in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, prostate cancer mortality rates have decreased by a tenth (10%) in males in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for prostate cancer are generally lower or similar in males of non-White minority ethnicity, compared with the White ethnic group, in England and Wales (2017-2019). See the publication Mortality from leading causes of death by ethnic group, England and Wales.
  • Prostate cancer mortality rates are projected to fall by 5% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around around 17,500 deaths of prostate cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Prostate cancer deaths in England are not associated with deprivation.

See more in-depth prostate cancer mortality statistics

  • Almost 8 in 10 (77.6%) men diagnosed with prostate cancer in England survive their disease for ten years or more, it is predicted (2013-2017).
  • 9 in 10 (90%) men in England diagnosed with prostate cancer aged 15-54 or 55-64 survive their disease for ten years or more, compared with around a quarter (25.6%) of men diagnosed aged 75-99 (2013-2017).
  • Prostate cancer survival has tripled in the last 50 years in the UK. This is probably because of PSA testing, which can result in earlier diagnosis and is therefore associated with higher survival, but can also lead to overdiagnosis, which artificially inflates survival by identifying cases which would not have gone on to cause harm in a person's lifetime.
  • In the 1970s, a quarter (25.2%) of men diagnosed with prostate cancer survived their disease beyond ten years, by the 2010s it was more than 8 in 10 (83.8%).
  • Around 9 in 10 (89.3%) men in England diagnosed with prostate cancer in the least deprived group survive their disease for five years or more, compared with almost 9 in 10 (85.9%) men in the most deprived group (2016-2020).
  • Five-year relative survival for prostate cancer in men is below the European average in England, Wales and Scotland but similar to the European average in Northern Ireland. Further details on cancer survival in Europe can be found on the EUROCARE website.
  • For prostate cancer, like other cancer sites, survival trends reflect a combination of changes in treatment and stage distribution. These factors themselves can vary by age, sex and deprivation.
  • Further survival statistics by stage can be found on the Early Diagnosis Data Hub and information on treatments for cancer can be found here.

Find further information on our prostate cancer survival trends page

  • A person’s risk of developing cancer depends on many factors, including age, genetics, and exposure to risk factors (including some potentially avoidable lifestyle factors).
  • 1 in 6 UK males will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.
  • Prostate cancer is not clearly linked to any preventable risk factors.
  • No modifiable factors have been conclusively linked with prostate cancer risk, though many factors have been studied. Use of PSA testing often makes interpretation of evidence difficult.

See more in-depth prostate cancer risk statistics

See the interactive cancer treatment online tool produced by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS) in partnership with Cancer Research UK (CRUK). This presents, for the first time, population-based statistics on chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgical tumour resections in England, by demographic factors and geography.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the many organisations across the UK which collect, analyse, and share the data which we use, and to the patients and public who consent for their data to be used. Find out more about the sources which are essential for our statistics.