Thyroid cancer is the 20th most common cancer in the UK with around 4,300 new cases every year; that’s 12 every day (2019, 2021-2022). Each year around a tenth (11%) of all new thyroid cancer cases in the UK are diagnosed in people aged 75 and over (2019, 2021-2022).
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Thyroid cancer accounts for 1% of all new cancer cases in the UK, with around 3,100 new cases in females and around 1,200 new cases in males every year (2019, 2021-2022).
Explore more detailed gender stats on our data hub for thyroid cancer
Incidence rates for thyroid cancer are highest in people aged 75 to 79 in the UK, with around 5 in 100 (6%) of all new thyroid cancer cases diagnosed in this age group (2019, 2021-2022).
Explore more detailed age stats on our data hub for thyroid cancer
Thyroid cancer incidence rates have almost tripled (195%) in the UK since the early 1990s and rates have increased by more than a third (36%) in the last decade (2019, 2021-2022).
Explore more detailed trends stats on our data hub for thyroid cancer
Thyroid cancer incidence rates in the UK are projected to increase by 27% between 2024-2026 and 2038-2040, with around 6,600 new cases each year by 2038-2040.
Explore more detailed projections stats on our data hub for thyroid cancer
Incidence rates for thyroid cancer are higher in the Asian and Black ethnic groups, but lower in people of mixed or multiple ethnicity, compared with the White ethnic group, in England (2013-2017).
Read our publication Cancer Incidence by Broad Ethnic Group for more details.
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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.
