Uterine cancer statistics

Cases

New cases of uterine cancer, 2016-2018, UK

Deaths

Deaths from uterine cancer, 2017-2019, UK

 

Survival

Survive uterine cancer for 10 or more years, 2013-17, England

Preventable cases

Uterine cancer cases are preventable, UK, 2015

 

  • There are around 9,700 new uterine cancer cases in the UK every year, that's 27 every day (2016-2018).
  • In females in the UK, uterine cancer is the 4th most common cancer, with around 9,700 new cases every year (2016-2018).
  • Uterine cancer accounts for 5% of all new cancer cases in females in the UK (2016-2018).
  • Uterine cancer accounts for 3% of all new cancer cases in females and males combined in the UK (2016-2018).
  • Incidence rates for uterine cancer in the UK are highest in females aged 75 to 79 (2016-2018).
  • Each year more than a quarter (27%) of all new uterine cancer cases in the UK are diagnosed in females aged 75 and over (2016-2018).
  • Since the early 1990s, uterine cancer incidence rates have increased by around three-fifths (59%) in females in the UK (2016-2018).
  • Over the last decade, uterine cancer incidence rates have increased by more than a tenth (12%) in females in the UK (2016-2018).
  • See our new Early Diagnosis Data Hub for statistics on stage at diagnosis for uterine cancer.
  • The most common specific location for uterine cancers in the UK is the endometrium (2016-2018).
  • Uterine cancer incidence rates are projected to fall by 2% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around 11,800 new cases of uterine cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Uterine cancer incidence rates in England in females are 17% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017).
  • Around 640 cases of uterine cancer each year in England are linked with deprivation.
  • Incidence rates for uterine cancer are higher in the Black ethnic group, lower in people of mixed or multiple ethnicities, and similar in the Asian ethnic group, compared with the White ethnic group, in females in England (2013-2017). See our publication Cancer Incidence by Broad Ethnic Group for more details.
  • An estimated 70,200 women who had previously been diagnosed with uterine cancer were alive in the UK at the end of 2010.

See more in-depth uterine cancer incidence statistics

  • There are around 2,500 uterine cancer deaths in the UK every year, that's nearly 7 every day (2017-2019).
  • Uterine cancer is the the 8th most common cause of cancer death in females in the UK, accounting for 3% of all cancer deaths in females in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Uterine cancer accounts for 1% of all cancer deaths in females and males combined in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for uterine cancer in the UK are highest in females aged 85 to 89 (2017-2019).
  • Each year more than half of all uterine cancer deaths (52%) in the UK are in females aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the early 1970s, uterine cancer mortality rates have remained stable in females in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, uterine cancer mortality rates have increased by around a quarter (24%) in females in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for cervical and uterine cancers combined are generally similar or higher in females 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.
  • Uterine cancer mortality rates are projected to rise by 12% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around around 4,200 deaths of uterine cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Uterine cancer deaths in England are more common in females living in the most deprived areas.

See more in-depth uterine cancer mortality statistics

  • More than 7 in 10 (71.6%) women diagnosed with uterine cancer in England survive their disease for ten years or more, it is predicted (2013-2017).
  • Almost 9 in 10 (84.5%) women in England diagnosed with uterine cancer between ages 15-44 survive their disease for ten years or more, compared with almost 6 in 10 (57.6%) women diagnosed aged 75-99 (2013-2017).
  • Uterine cancer survival has increased in the last 50 years in the UK.
  • In the 1970s, almost 6 in 10 (55.3%) women diagnosed with uterine cancer survived their disease beyond ten years, by the 2010s it was almost 8 in 10 (77.5%).
  • Around 8 in 10 (78.0%) women in England diagnosed with uterine cancer in the least deprived group survive their disease for five years or more, compared with more than 7 in 10 (72.0%) women in the most deprived group (2016-2020).
  • Five-year relative survival for uterine cancer in women is similar to the European average in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Further details on cancer survival in Europe can be found on the EUROCARE website.
  • For uterine 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 uterine 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 36 UK females will be diagnosed with uterine cancer in their lifetime.
  • 34% of uterine cancer cases in the UK are preventable.

See more in-depth uterine 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.