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Publication, Part of

Cancer Registration Statistics, England 2020

National statistics

Publication Date:
20 Oct 2022
Geographic Coverage:
England
Geographical Granularity:
Government Office Regions
National Statistics

Current Chapter

Cancer Registration Statistics, England 2020

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Cancer diagnoses in 2020
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Summary

This publication reports on newly diagnosed cancers registered in England in addition to cancer deaths registered in England during 2020. It includes this summary report showing key findings, spreadsheet tables with more detailed estimates, and a methodology document.

New in this publication

For the first time this publication includes cancer mortality by deprivation and diagnosis (based on 3-digit ICD-10 codes). 

The data tables have been updated to provide cancer mortality and incidence estimates by sub-Integrated Care Board location in place of Clinical Commissioning Groups. 

Cancer diagnoses decreased in 2020

There were 288,753 new cancer diagnoses in 2020, on average 789 a day, which is 38,421 less than 2019.

Rates of cancer death fell in 2020

Rates of death from cancer fell by 1% for males and 2% for females compared to 2019.

The rate of cancer deaths is higher in areas with higher deprivation

Male and female mortality rates in the 20% most deprived areas of England are at least 53% higher than for those in the 20% least deprived areas.

Cancer registrations (incidence) are provided by:

  • Diagnosis (ICD-10 3-digit codes) by gender, age group, geographic region, deprivation, and stage at diagnosis for selected cancer sites
  • Diagnosis (ICD-10 4-digit codes) by gender and age group

Deaths from cancer (mortality) are provided by:

  • Diagnosis (ICD-10 3-digit codes) by gender, deprivation, and age group

 

COVID-19 and the production of statistics

Due to the coronavirus illness (COVID-19) disruption during 2020, these data demonstrate a change in the patterns of cancer diagnoses and deaths, with a significant change in the number and rates of diagnosis compared to 2019. Therefore, trend data should be interpreted with care over the COVID-19 period. NDRS published some early reporting from late 2020 onwards to help with monitoring of any impact using provisional Rapid Cancer Registration Data (RCRD), which demonstrated similar patterns. The full registration data adds detail and robustness to the reporting of these changes.

 

Definition of “all cancers”

Unless otherwise stated, the numbers and rates presented in this bulletin for “all cancers” refer to cancers (malignant tumours) as defined by the tenth revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10), excluding non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), ICD-10: C00 to C97 excluding C44. Please see the Data Quality and Methodology section for more detail.

 

Acknowledgments

This work uses data that has been provided by patients and collected by the NHS as part of their care and support. The data is collated, maintained, and quality assured by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service, which is part of NHS Digital.

Key Facts

Last edited: 16 March 2023 10:21 am