The number of people dying from cancer has slightly increased. For males, the number of deaths increased from 72,882 in 2018 to 73,318 in 2019. For females, the number of deaths increased from 63,338 in 2018 to 63,778 in 2019.
Despite the increase in number of deaths, the age-standardised rate of mortality from cancer has decreased for both males and females. For males, the rate decreased from 313 deaths per 100,000 people in 2018 to 307 deaths per 100,000 people in 2019. Similarly, for females, the rate decreased from 218 deaths per 100,000 people in 2018 to 216 deaths per 100,000 people in 2019.
Table 2: Age-standardised cancer mortality and incidence rates per 100,000 for the four most commonly diagnosed cancers in males and females, England, 2010 and 2019
|
Cancer site/group
|
Sex
|
2010 Incidence rate
|
2010 Mortality rate
|
2019 Incidence rate
|
2019 Mortality rate
|
|
Breast (C50)
|
Females
|
165.2
|
37.3
|
171.0
|
32.2
|
|
Colon and rectum (C18-C20)
|
Males
|
92.3
|
36.1
|
84.3
|
31.9
|
|
Females
|
58.7
|
22.1
|
57.6
|
20.9
|
|
Lung (C34)
|
Males
|
96.2
|
78.9
|
84.2
|
61.5
|
|
Females
|
61.8
|
48.7
|
66.7
|
43.4
|
|
Prostate (C61)
|
Males
|
180.6
|
51.2
|
191.0
|
45.5
|
As shown in Table 2, in 2019, for males, the 3 cancers with the highest incidence rates per 100,000 people were prostate, lung, and colon and rectum. The incidence rate for prostate cancer has increased between 2010 and 2019 but has decreased for lung, and colon and rectum cancer in males. Despite the increase in prostate cancer incidence, the mortality rates per 100,000 people have decreased from 51 in 2010 to 46 in 2019.
Also shown in Table 2, breast cancer incidence in females increased between 2010 and 2019, from 165 per 100,000 people to 171 per 100,000 people, but the mortality rates decreased, from 37 per 100,000 people in 2010 to 32 per 100,000 people in 2019. In a similar trend, lung cancer incidence in females also increased between 2010 and 2019, from 62 per 100,000 people in 2010 to 67 per 100,000 people in 2019, but lung cancer mortality rates decreased, from 49 per 100,000 people to 43 per 100,000 people.
