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).
View more detailed gender stats on our dashboard for young people's cancers
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 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).
View more detailed trends stats on our dashboard for young people's cancers
View our latest cancer statistics including key stats, in-depth explanations and raw data on cancer incidence, mortality, survival, risk, and diagnosis and treatment.
View full A-Z cancer statisticsSee information and explanations on terminology used for statistics and reporting of cancer, and the methods used to calculate some of our statistics.
Go to local cancer statistics - search profiles by area, constituency or health board in the UK.
Go to devolved nations overview for an overview of Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
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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
Data were provided by the Office for National Statistics on request, November 2019. Similar data can be found here: http://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths.
Data were provided by Public Health Scotland on request, October 2019. Similar data can be found here.
Data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry on request, June 2020. Similar data can be found here.
Data were provided by the Office for National Statistics on request, October 2017. Similar data can be found here: Data were provided by the Office for National Statistics on request, October 2017..
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
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
