Cancer of unknown primary mortality statistics

Deaths

Deaths from cancer of unknown primary, 2017-2019, UK.

Percentage of all deaths

Percentage cancer of unknown primary contributes to total cancer deaths, 2017-2019, UK

Age

Peak mortality rate for cancer of unknown primary, 2017-2019, UK

Trend over time

Change in cancer of unknown primary mortality rates since the early 1970s, UK

Cancer of unknown primary is the 6th most common cause of cancer death in the UK, accounting for 6% of all cancer deaths (2017-2019).[1-4]

In females in the UK, cancer of unknown primary is the 4th most common cause of cancer death (6% of all female cancer deaths). In males in the UK, it is the 6th most common cause of cancer death (5% of all male cancer deaths).

53% of cancer of unknown primary deaths in the UK are in females, and 47% are in males (2017-2019).

Cancer of unknown primary mortality rates (European age-standardised Open a glossary item (AS) rates) in the UK are significantly lower in females than in males (2017-2019).

Cancer of unknown primary mortality rates (European age-standardised Open a glossary item (AS) rates) for persons are significantly higher than the UK average in Wales, and similar to the UK average in all other UK constituent countries.

For cancer of unknown primary, mortality differences between countries largely reflect differences in incidence.

Cancer of Unknown Primary (C77-C80), Annual Average Number of Deaths, Crude and European Age-Standardised (AS) Mortality Rates per 100,000 Persons Population, UK, 2017-2019

  England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland UK
Female Deaths 4,167 439 310 119 5,035
Crude Rate 14.7 15.7 19.5 12.4 15.0
AS Rate 14.1 14.7 16.9 13.1 14.2
AS Rate - 95% LCL 13.8 13.9 15.8 11.7 14.0
AS Rate - 95% UCL 14.3 15.5 18.0 14.4 14.5
Male Deaths 3,710 362 279 109 4,460
Crude Rate 13.4 13.7 18.1 11.8 13.6
AS Rate 16.1 16.3 19.4 15.7 16.2
AS Rate - 95% LCL 15.8 15.4 18.1 14.0 16.0
AS Rate - 95% UCL 16.4 17.3 20.7 17.4 16.5
Persons Deaths 7,877 801 589 228 9,495
Crude Rate 14.1 14.7 18.8 12.1 14.3
AS Rate 14.9 15.3 17.9 14.2 15.1
AS Rate - 95% LCL 14.7 14.7 17.1 13.1 14.9
AS Rate - 95% UCL 15.1 15.9 18.7 15.3 15.2

95% LCL and 95% UCL are the 95% lower and upper confidence limits around the AS Rate Open a glossary item

See also

Cancer of unknown primary incidence statistics by sex and UK region

Cancer mortality statistics for common cancers in the UK

References

  1. England and Wales data were accessed from Nomis mortality statistics by underlying cause, sex and age, November 2021: Nomis mortality statistics by underlying cause, sex and age.
  2. Scotland data were provided by ISD Scotland on request, November 2021. Similar data can be found here: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications/index.asp(link is external).
  3. Northern Ireland data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry on request, February 2022. Similar data can be found here: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/.
  4. Population data were published by the Office for National statistics, accessed July 2020. The data can be found here: Population estimates for the UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, provisional: mid-2019.

About this data

Data is for UK, 2017-2019, C77-C80.

Last reviewed:

Cancer of unknown primary mortality is strongly related to age, with the highest mortality rates being in older people. In the UK in 2017-2019, on average each year 6 in 10 deaths (60%) were in people aged 75 and over.[1-4] This largely reflects higher incidence and lower survival for cancer of unknown primary in older people.

Age-specific mortality rates rise steadily from around age 40-44 and more steeply from around age 65-69. The highest rates are in the 90+ age group for both females and males. Mortality rates are significantly lower in females than males in a number of (mainly older) age groups. The gap is widest at age 90+, when the age-specific mortality rate is 1.3 times lower in females than males.

Cancer of Unknown Primary (C77-C80), Average Number of Deaths per Year and Age-Specific Mortality Rates per 100,000 Persons Population, UK, 2017-2019

See also

Cancer of unknown primary incidence statistics by age

Cancer mortality statistics by age for all cancers

References

  1. England and Wales data were accessed from Nomis mortality statistics by underlying cause, sex and age, November 2021: Nomis mortality statistics by underlying cause, sex and age.
  2. Scotland data were provided by ISD Scotland on request, November 2021. Similar data can be found here: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications/index.asp(link is external).
  3. Northern Ireland data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry on request, February 2022. Similar data can be found here: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/.
  4. Population data were published by the Office for National statistics, accessed July 2020. The data can be found here: Population estimates for the UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, provisional: mid-2019.

About this data

Data is for UK, 2017-2019, ICD-10 C77-C80.

Last reviewed:

Cancer of unknown primary age-standardised (AS) Open a glossary item rates for females and males combined increased by 73% in the UK between 1971-1973 and 2017-2019.[1-4] The increase was larger in females than in males.

For females, cancer of unknown primary AS mortality rates in the UK increased by 85% between 1971-1973 and 2017-2019. For males, cancer of unknown primary AS mortality rates in the UK increased by 59% between 1971-1973 and 2017-2019.

Over the last decade in the UK (between 2007-2009 and 2017-2019), cancer of unknown primary AS mortality rates for females and males combined decreased by 29%. In females AS mortality rates decreased by 28%, and in males rates decreased by 32%.

Cancer of Unknown Primary (C77-C80), European Age-Standardised Mortality Rates per 100,000 Persons Population, UK, 1971-2019

For cancer of unknown primary, mortality trends largely reflect overall cancer mortality trends, coupled with improvements in diagnosis reducing the proportion of deaths where the specific cancer implicated is not known. For example, rising cancer of unknown primary mortality may reflect rising overall cancer mortality and stable proportion of cancer deaths where the specific cancer implicated is not known, while falling mortality of cancer of unknown primary may reflect rising mortality but a falling proportion of cancer deaths where the specific cancer implicated is not known.

Cancer of unknown primary mortality rates have varied between age groups in females and males combined in the UK since the early 1970s.[1-4] Rates in 0-24s have remained stable, in 25-49s have remained stable, in 50-59s have remained stable, in 60-69s have increased by 19%, in 70-79s have increased by 61% and in 80+s have increased by 189%.

Cancer of Unknown Primary (C77-C80), European Age-Standardised Mortality Rates per 100,000 Persons Population, By Age, UK, 1971-2019

See also

Cancer of unknown primary incidence trends over time

References

  1. England and Wales data were accessed from Nomis mortality statistics by underlying cause, sex and age, November 2021: Nomis mortality statistics by underlying cause, sex and age.
  2. Scotland data were provided by ISD Scotland on request, November 2021. Similar data can be found here: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications/index.asp(link is external).
  3. Northern Ireland data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry on request, February 2022. Similar data can be found here: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/.
  4. Population data were published by the Office for National statistics, accessed July 2020. The data can be found here: Population estimates for the UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, provisional: mid-2019.

About this data

Data is for UK, 1971-2019, C77-C80.

Cancers in children and young people (aged 0-24) are best classified using a different system to cancers in adults, so the figures presented here may not correspond with those elsewhere.

Last reviewed:

It is projected that the average number of deaths from cancers of unknown primary in the UK every year will rise from around 9,000 deaths in 2023-2025 to around 10,000 deaths in 2038-2040.[1]

Cancers of unknown primary mortality rates are projected to fall by 13% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040, to 11 deaths per 100,000 people on average each year by 2038-2040.[1] This includes a similar decrease for males and females.

For females, cancers of unknown primary Europeanage-standardised (AS) Open a glossary item mortality rates in the UK are projected to fall by 14% between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040, to 10 deaths per 100,000 per year by 2038-2040.[1] For males, AS rates are projected to fall by 12% between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040, to 12 deaths per 100,000 per year by 2038-2040.[1]

Cancers of unknown primary (C77-C80), Observed and Projected Age-Standardised Mortality Rates, by Sex, UK, 1975-2040

Download the data table (xlsx)

See also

Find out how these projections were calculated

Mortality trends over time for cancer of unknown primary

Projections of mortality for all cancers combined

Download the projections data table

References

Calculated by the Cancer Intelligence Team at Cancer Research UK, February 2023. Age-period-cohort modelling approach described here, using 2020-based population projections (Office for National Statistics) and observed cancer mortality data (1975-2018).

About this data

Projections are based on mortality data from 1975-2018 (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland); the above figure presents all UK data from 1975-2018 (observed) and 2019-2040 (projected). Number of deaths and age-standardised rates are presented as annual averages for each 3-year rolling period. ICD-10 codes C73.

Projections are based on observed mortality rates and therefore implicitly include changes in cancer risk factors, diagnosis and treatment. Confidence intervals are not calculated for the projected figures. Projections are by their nature uncertain because unexpected events in future could change the trend. It is not sensible to calculate a boundary of uncertainty around these already uncertain point estimates. Changes are described as 'increase' or 'decrease' if there is any difference between the point estimates.

More on projections methodology

Last reviewed:

There is evidence for an association between cancer of unkown primary (CUP) mortality and deprivation for both males and females in England.[1] England-wide data for 2007-2011 show European age-standardised Open a glossary item mortality rates are 76% higher for males living in the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived, and 61% higher for females.[1]

Cancer of Unknown Primary (C77-C80), European Age-Standardised Mortality Rates by Deprivation Quintile, England, 2007-2011

The estimated deprivation gradient in CUP mortality between people living in the most and least deprived areas in England has not changed in the period 2002-2011.[1] It has been estimated that there would have been around 1,700 fewer cancer deaths each year in England during 2007-2011 if all people experienced the same mortality rates as the least deprived.[1]

See also

Deprivation gradient for cancer motality

Deprivation gradient in cancer of unknown primary incidence

Socio-economic variation in cancer mortality for Scotland

Socio-economic variation in cancer mortality for Wales

Socio-economic variation in cancer mortality for Northern Ireland

References

  1. Cancer Research UK and National Cancer Intelligence Network. Cancer by deprivation in England: Incidence, 1996-2010, Mortality, 1997-2011. London: NCIN; 2014.

About this data

Data is for: UK, 2007-2011, ICD-10 C77-C80

Deprivation gradient statistics were calculated using mortality data for 2007-2011. The deprivation quintiles were calculated using the Income domain scores from the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) from the following years: 2004, 2007 and 2010. Full details on the data and methodology can be found in the Cancer by Deprivation in England NCIN report.

Last reviewed:

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Cancer stats explained

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