Cancer statistics in the UK

People dying from cancer

Each year, around 167,000 people die from cancer in the UK, an average of 460 people every day. 

However, mortality has increased at a much slower rate in comparison to incidence, showing a rise of 7% between 2009 and 2019.

 

Additionally, age-standardised rates of cancer mortality per 100,000 people, allowing for comparisons despite the aging population, decreased by more than 8%, on average across UK nations, between 2009 and 2019 (reference iii). Cancer mortality statistics for 2020 and 2021 have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic so have not been included here.

 

Cancer waiting times

For over a decade, published figures on the number of people waiting for a diagnosis or treatment for cancer have shown the huge challenge facing NHS cancer services, with tens of thousands of people waiting for too long for diagnosis or vital treatment. This has been an ongoing issue, but has worsened further in recent years, partly as a result of ongoing staff shortages and the COVID-19 pandemic, across the UK. 

Performance against cancer waiting times targets in all UK nations fell to among the worst on record in 2023. As of June 2024, two in three people currently having cancer treatment in the UK (66%) were worried about general pressures on the NHS affecting their chances of survival, according to a Macmillan/YouGov survey of over 2,000 adults diagnosed with cancer (reference iv). 

Further cancer waiting times data and information is available across the UK from NHS England, Public Health Scotland, Welsh Government and the Department of Health in Northern Ireland. Our analyses of the national publications on cancer waiting times are regularly updated and included in Macmillan’s press releases and statements.

Living beyond a cancer diagnosis

Based on data for median cancer survival in the UK, average survival is now estimated to be over 10 years from diagnosis  (reference v). This is up from the median survival time of one year in the 1970s and six years in 2007 (reference vi).

However, there are some noticeable differences in age-standardised net survival rates between different cancer types, with melanoma of the skin recording the highest 1-year (98.0%) and 5-year (92.6%) age-standardised net survival rates and pancreatic cancer the lowest 1-year (27.7%) and 5-year (8.3%) survival among persons in England (reference vii).

Recent Macmillan analysis shows that that UK cancer survival rates are up to 25 years behind other European countries.

While it is clearly good news that more people are surviving cancer, progress can be a double-edged sword unless those living longer after cancer receive appropriate support.
‘Throwing Light on the Consequences of Cancer and its Treatment’ (and the accompanying lay summary report  ‘Cured – But at What Cost?’) revealed another vital aspect of the changing cancer story.

We estimate around one in four (25%) people with cancer are living with the long-term consequences of cancer or its treatment (reference viii).

The cancer journey

Macmillan has identified stages along people’s cancer journey when experiences are commonly shared, with five key moments (diagnosis, treatment, recovery, living with treatable but not curable cancer and end of life) where there is a particularly high level of unmet need.

 

Holistic Needs Assessment (HNA)

The Holistic Needs Assessment (HNA or eHNA, in its electronic format) is a questionnaire to identify the concerns of people living with cancer at any stage of the cancer pathway to facilitate a conversation about their needs and to develop a Personalised Care and Support Plan, through their cancer journey.

In 2023, 59,000 eHNAs were carried out through Macmillan’s platform, which helped identify tens of thousands of concerns from people living with cancer. This was a 13% increase on 2022 (reference ix).  

 

Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES)

The Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES) is a survey to understand the experiences of people living with cancer, run by NHS England in England, and by Macmillan jointly with the Welsh Cancer network in Wales, Scottish government in Scotland and the Public Health Agency, and Health and Social Care Board in N. Ireland. 

The most recent national surveys reported mostly positive results (on a scale of 0-10, where 10 is ‘very good’) with key areas for improvement: 

• In England, although respondents to the most recent survey (2023) gave an average rating of 8.89 for overall care, only 72.2% of them said they were able to have a discussion about their needs or concerns prior to treatment. 
• In Northern Ireland, on average respondents rated their overall care as 9 out of 10, in 2018. 
• In Scotland, also in 2018, 95% of respondents to the survey said their care was positive overall, rating it 7 or more, with an area of improvement identified in the provision of emotional or psychological support by healthcare professionals during their treatment, due to 45% of respondents saying they didn’t receive this.
• In Wales, 92% of more than 6,000 people living with cancer who took part in the 2021 survey, selected 7 or more out of 10 when rating their care during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 90% of people saying they were treated with dignity and respect when in hospital. However, 36% of people said that they had not been offered information about how to access financial help or benefits, which given the potential financial impact of a cancer diagnosis should be more widely addressed. 

Unfortunately, in terms of variation in experience, analyses of CPES England highlighted that in terms of ethnic and social variation, CPES responses in England have consistently shown, since their first publication in 2010, that people from ethnically diverse groups, as well as the young, the very old and women, overall report a poorer experience of cancer services than White British people. In 2023, White patients gave a score of 8.92 out of 10 for overall experience of care, in comparison with scores of 8.57 (Mixed), 8.55 (Black), 8.62 (Asian) and 8.48 (Other ethnic groups), within the survey. 

For a summary of the results from the latest CPES publications from each nation, please visit the dedicated Cancer Patient Experience Survey on Macmillan’s website. 

Cancer Quality of Life Survey

Conducted by NHS England and NHS Digital, the Cancer Quality of Life Survey is a national survey composed of two questionnaires. It is focused on general health and quality of life, completed by people with cancer around 18 months after their diagnosis and, for comparison, the general population, in England.

Results from the Cancer Quality of Life Survey including questionnaire responses received up to the beginning of February 2024 highlighted a lowest score for its respondents with cancer on overall health (74 out of 100), in comparison to that of the general population (90 out of 100), with respondents with cancer reporting the lowest average score in the quality of life functional categories of work or leisure (74.2 out of 100) activities. Furthermore, analyses of the survey indicated difficulty sleeping (26.3%) as one of the symptom experienced by respondents with cancer which may benefit from further investigation, for its impact on quality of life.

Data partnerships outputs

Macmillan’s data partnerships with public health and government organisations across the UK have further contributed to understanding the experiences and subsequent needs of the cancer population, including:

In collaboration with the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS), sizing the population living with treatable but not curable (TbnC) cancer at over 110,500 people, in addition to around 52,000 people at end of life and a further 57,000 people at high risk of recurrence or having their life shortened by cancer, in England (reference x).

In partnership with the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry, a report examining outcomes for more than 4,300 patients in the last year of their life dying of cancer, with a total of over 6,000 emergency admissions and featuring a late diagnosis in almost a quarter (23%) of reported cases.

The GP Cluster Network Dashboard, published by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit, reporting on an analysis finding respiratory (10%), diabetes (9%) and circulatory (7.8%) conditions to be the three most common co-morbidities in people diagnosed with cancer.