Cancer deaths predicted to “fall by 17% in the UK by 2030”

Hannah Blake

pharmaphorum

By 2030, the rates of people dying from cancer in the UK are predicted to fall by nearly 17%, largely due to better survival rates, earlier diagnoses and improved treatments.

Two years ago, an estimated 170 people in every 100,000 of the general population died from cancer. Over the next 17 years, this forecast is set to fall to 142 people per 100,000.

Ovarian cancer will see the biggest fall, with death rates expected to reduce by nearly 43% - a decrease from 9 women, to 5 women per 100,00. Other cancers are also expected to all have huge reductions in the number of people in every 100,000 dying: female breast cancer may see a decrease of 28%, bowel cancer 23% and 16% for prostate cancer.

“These new figures are encouraging and highlight the huge progress we’re making. Research across many areas is having real impact. But we know there’s still so much more to do if we are to reach a day when no-one dies prematurely from cancer. We continue to rely on the public’s generosity to drive progress. This helps us turn discoveries made in our science labs into new treatments and to carry out clinical trials to find the best ways to treat patients.”

Dr Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive.

These new statistics have been released by Cancer Research UK, in the run-up to its live television fundraising entertainment show, Stand Up To Cancer, in partnership with Channel 4, on Friday October 19th.