Cancer death rates will be 10% lower than five years ago

Cancer death rates will be 10% lower than five years ago, new research suggests – as NHS bosses hail impact of awareness campaigns in getting people to come forward for checks

  • Study predicts 172,314 patients will die in 2023 – down 10 per cent in five years
  • It could be possible that by 2035 the rate will have dropped by 35 per cent
  • Read: Only 2.4% of NHS England trusts hit cancer waiting-time targets last year

Cancer death rates could be around 10 per cent lower than they were five years ago, research has suggested – with NHS awareness campaigns attributed to the reduction in mortalities. 

The study, published in journal Annals of Oncology, predicts that 172,314 people will die from cancer in the UK this year.

Although this is an increase on the 170,690 deaths in 2018, when age demographics of the UK population are taken into account, it is likely this year will see a 10 per cent decrease in deaths. 

Research lead Carlo La Vecchia, from the University of Milan, said that death rates would fall by 11.41 per cent in men from 120 cancer deaths per 100,000 in 2018 to 107 this year.

He said the rate of women dying from cancer will also fall – by 9.79 per cent from 93 per 100,000 in 2018 to 83 in 2023.

The study predicts that 172,314 people will die from cancer in the UK this year – which is 10 per cent lower than the 170,690 deaths in 2018. File image

He added that if the rate were continue to decrease at the same rate, it could be possible that by 2035 the rate will have dropped by a further 35 per cent. 

Dame Cally Palmer, national cancer director for NHS England, said the report demonstrates ‘considerable progress’ made in reducing cancer fatalities in the UK. 

She said: ‘The NHS is determined to build on this by 2028 by diagnosing 75 per cent of cancers at an early stage when there are more treatment options,’ according to The Times. 

She attributed the success to awareness campaigns that have encouraged a record number of people coming forward for clinical check ups. 

She added: ‘Our lung and liver trucks are proactively checking people at greater risk of cancer and more people are being diagnosed with cancer at an earlier stage.’

Since 1988 – when death rates were at their highest – there have been a predicted 1.24 million deaths avoided.

It comes as last year less than three per cent of NHS England trusts hit cancer waiting-time targets.

Of 125 hospital trusts in England analysed, only three (2.4%) hit the target of treating 85 per cent of patients within 62 days of an urgent referral in 2022. 

Meanwhile, more than 66,000 cancer patients had to wait more than two months for their first treatment after a referral last year – and some trusts have not hit the expected standard for at least eight years, according to the Guardian. 

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