Young people's cancers mortality statistics
Young people's cancers mortality by gender and UK country
| There are around 250 cancer deaths in young people every year in the UK, with around 100 deaths in female young people and around 150 deaths in male young people every year (2021-2023). |
Young people's cancers mortality by age
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Young people's cancer mortality rates in the UK are highest in the 20-24 age group, with more than 1 in 2 (54%) of all new cancer deaths occurring in this age group (2021-2023). Young persons’ cancer usually has 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 mortality trends over time
| Young people's cancer mortality rates have decreased by more than a third (35%) in the UK since the early 2000s and rates have remained stable in the last decade (2021-2023). |
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The most common cause of cancer death in young people is leukaemia followed by brain, other CNS and intracranial tumours.[1-3]
Routinely-collected mortality data are presented by ICD-10 code. However, this coding framework is generally not appropriate for cancer in young people because it defines tumours using body site rather than cell type, and the latter is more important for cancer in young people. ICD-10 coding is considered reliable for malignant brain and other CNS tumours and leukaemias, in young people.[4]
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See also
Cancer mortality statistics for all ages
References
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Data were provided by the Office for National Statistics on request, November 2019. Similar data can be found here.
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Data were provided by Public Health Scotland on request, October 2019. Similar data can be found here.
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Data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry on request, June 2020. Similar data can be found here.
About this data
Data is for UK, 2016-2018, Age 15-24, Leukaemia ICD-10 C91-C95; Brain ICD-10 C70-C72; Other cancers ICD-10 C00-C69, C73-C90, C96-C97, D32-D33, D35.2-D35.4, D42-D43, D44.3-D44.5; All cancers combined C00-C97, D32-D33, D35.2-D35.4, D42-D43, D44.3-D44.5.
Last reviewed: 1 February 2021
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The most common causes of cancer death in young people are brain, other CNS and intracranial tumours followed by leukaemia.[1-3] Routinely-collected mortality data are presented by ICD-10 code. However, this coding framework is generally not appropriate for cancer in young people because it defines tumours using body site rather than cell type, and the latter is more important for cancer in young people. ICD-10 coding is considered reliable for malignant brain and other CNS tumours and leukaemias, in young people.[4] |
See also
Cancer mortality statistics for all ages
References
- Data were provided by the Office for National Statistics on request, October 2017. Similar data can be found here: http://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths.
- Data were provided by ISD Scotland on request, October 2017. Similar data can be found here: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications/index.asp.
- Data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry on request, December 2017. Similar data can be found here: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/.
- Childhood Cancer Mortality in the UK and Internationally, 2005-2010: www.ncin.org.uk/view?rid=3027
About this data
Data is for UK, 2014-2016, Brain ICD-10 C70-C72; Leakaemia ICD-10 C90-C95; Other cancers ICD-10 C00-C69, C73-C90, C96-C97, D32-D33, D35.2-D35.4, D42-D43, D44.3-D44.5; All cancers combined C00-C97, D32-D33, D35.2-D35.4, D42-D43, D44.3-D44.5.
Last reviewed: 23 May 2018
Cancer (excluding benign, uncertain and unknown behaviour brain, other CNS and intracranial tumours) is the second most common cause of death for males and females aged 15-24. Cancer accounted for 10% of all deaths in this age group in 2020).[1-3]
See also
Find out more about the counting and coding of this data
Cancer mortality statistics by age
Cancer incidence by age statistics
Cancer survival by age statistics
References
- England and Wales data were from the Office for National Statistics, accessed February 2022: Nomis mortality statistics by underlying cause, sex and age
- Scotland data were from the National Records of Scotland, accessed February 2022: Vital Events Reference Tables
- Northern Ireland data were from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, accessed February 2022: Registrar General Annual Report 2020 Cause of Death
Last reviewed: 14 June 2022
An estimated 11,800 young people’s cancer deaths had been avoided in the UK by 2018 because mortality rates have fallen since the 1970s.[1]
See also
Cancer incidence statistics for young people's cancers in the UK
Cancer survival statistics for young people's cancers in the UK
Last reviewed: 21 September 2021
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