Cancer deaths down 22% since 70s, but cases rising

CANCER death rates have fallen by more than a fifth in the last 50 years, but cases are rising, according to a new analysis.

- JANE KIRBY

A report from Cancer Research UK found people are now more likely to get cancer than decades ago, but are less likely to die from the disease.

Figures show that the rate of people dying from cancer in the UK has fallen by around 22% since the early 1970s, but the rate of people being diagnosed with the disease has risen by almost half. In 1973, 328 per 100,000 people died from cancer, dropping to around 252 per 100,000 in 2023, driven by improvements in areas such as diagnosis and better treatment, as well as action to cut smoking.

The study said: "Survival for all cancers combined in England and Wales has doubled since the early 1970s, but progress has slowed over the last 10 years and remains lower than other comparable countries. Survival increased three to five times faster in previous decades, compared with the improvement since 2010."