Young people's cancers incidence statistics
Young people's cancers incidence by gender and UK country
| There are around 2,300 new cancer cases in young people every year in the UK, with around 1,100 new cases in female young people and around 1,100 new cases in male young people every year (2017-2019). |
Young people's cancers incidence by age
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Young people's cancers incidence rates in the UK are highest in the 20-24 age group, with almost 2 in 3 (64%) of all new cancer cases being diagnosed in this age group (2017-2019). Young people’s cancers usually have no known cause. For most cancer types incidence increases with age, which largely reflects cell DNA damage accumulating over time. Damage can result from biological processes or from exposure to risk factors. |
Young people's cancers incidence trends over time
| Young people's cancer incidence rates have increased by around a tenth (9%) in the UK since the early 2000s and rates have remained stable in the last decade (2017-2019). |
Young people’s cancers are classified into 12 broad diagnostic groups (each of which can be further subdivided) according to the International Classification of Childhood Cancer, Third Edition (ICCC-3).[1] There are UK statistics for 88 distinct diagnostic subgroups of young people’s cancers.[2]
The most common groups of young people’s cancers in the UK are Other malignant epithelial neoplasms and malignant melanomas (30% of cases), Lymphomas and reticuloendothelial neoplasms (20% of cases), and Germ cell tumours, trophoblastic tumours, and neoplasms of gonads (16% of cases) (1997-2016).[2]
See also
Find out more about the counting and coding of this data
Cancer incidence statistics for common cancers in the UK
Cancer incidence and survival statistics by cancer type for children and young people
References
- International Classification of Childhood Cancer, third edition(link is external). Cancer 2005;103:1457-67.
- Public Health England. Children, teenagers and young adults UK cancer statistics report 2021. Available from http://ncin.org.uk/cancer_type_and_topic_specific_work/cancer_type_specific_work/cancer_in_children_teenagers_and_young_adults/ accessed March 2021.
About this data
Data is for UK, 1997-2016, International Classification of Childhood Cancer, Third Edition (ICCC-3)
Last reviewed: 1 September 2021
Nearly 33,800 people who had been diagnosed with cancer at age 15-24 in the UK between 1997 and 2016, were still alive at the end of 2018.[1]
See also
Cancer incidence statistics for all cancers in the UK
References
- Public Health England. Children, teenagers and young adults UK cancer statistics report 2021. Available from http://ncin.org.uk/cancer_type_and_topic_specific_work/cancer_type_specific_work/cancer_in_children_teenagers_and_young_adults/ accessed March 2021.
About this data
Data is for UK, 1997-2016, International Classification of Childhood Cancer, Third Edition (ICCC-3)
Last reviewed: 3 September 2021
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