Cancer Death Rates Reach Record Low After Decades of Progress

The United Kingdom has seen cancer death rates fall to their lowest level on record, reflecting major long-term advances in prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

“These gains reflect decades of investment in cancer research, prevention and treatment,” said Ahmed Elbediwy, Senior Lecturer in Cancer Biology and Clinical Biochemistry at Kingston University.

Annual cancer deaths have dropped from 355 per 100,000 people in 1989 to around 247 between 2022 and 2024, a decline of nearly 29%. Over the past decade, deaths from stomach cancer fell by 34%, lung cancer by 22%, and ovarian cancer by 19%, while cervical cancer deaths have plunged by 75% since the 1970s due to screening and vaccination. Earlier diagnosis through national screening programmes, wider use of treatments such as immunotherapy and hormone therapies, and public health measures like smoking reduction have all contributed, with projections suggesting death rates could fall a further 6% over the next two decades.