Soft tissue sarcoma statistics

• There are around 4,600 new soft tissue sarcoma cases in England every year, that's around 13 every day (2019, 2021-2022).
• In females in England, there are around 2,200 new soft tissue sarcoma cases every year (2019, 2021-2022).
• In males in England, there are around 2,400 new soft tissue sarcoma cases every year (2019, 2021-2022).
• Incidence rates for soft tissue sarcoma in the England are highest in people aged 85-89 (2019, 2021-2022).
• Each year a third (33%) of all new soft tissue sarcoma cases in England are diagnosed in people aged 75 and over (2019, 2021-2022).
• Over the last decade, soft tissue sarcoma incidence rates have increased by 7% in England. Rates in females have remained stable, and rates in males have increased by around a tenth (11%) (2013-2022).
• Most soft tissue sarcomas occur in the limbs.
• An estimated 11,700 people who had previously been diagnosed with connective and soft tissue sarcoma were alive in the UK at the end of 2010.

See more in-depth soft tissue sarcoma incidence statistics

• More than two-thirds (68%) of people diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma in England survive their disease for five years or more (2016)
• For soft tissue 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 information on treatments for cancer can be found here.
• Further survival statistics can be found here.

• 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).
• 100% of Kaposi sarcoma cases in the UK are preventable.

See more in-depth soft tissue sarcoma risk factors