Eye cancer statistics

Cases

New cases of eye cancer each year, 2017-2019 average, UK.

Deaths

Deaths from eye cancer, 2017-2019, UK.

Survival

Survive eye cancer for 10 or more years, 2009-2013, England

 

Prevention

Preventable cases of eye cancer, UK

  • There are around 880 new eye cancer cases in the UK every year, that's more than 2 every day (2017-2019).
  • Eye cancer is not among the 20 most common cancers in the UK, accounting for less than 1% of all new cancer cases (2017-2019).
  • In females in the UK, eye cancer is not among the 20 most common cancers, with around 420 new cases every year (2017-2019).
  • In males in the UK, eye cancer is not among the 20 most common cancers, with around 470 new cases every year (2017-2019).
  • Incidence rates for eye cancer in the UK are highest in people aged 85 to 89 (2017-2019).
  • Each year more than a fifth (22%) of all new eye cancer cases in the UK are diagnosed in people aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the early 1990s, eye cancer incidence rates have increased by almost a third (30%) in the UK. Rates in females have increased by more than a quarter (29%), and rates in males have increased by more than a quarter (27%) (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, eye cancer incidence rates have increased by almost two-fifths (37%) in the UK. Rates in females have increased by around two-fifths (41%), and rates in males have increased by around a third (34%) (2017-2019).
  • Eye cancer incidence rates are projected to rise by 50% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around 2,100 new cases of eye cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • The most common specific location for eye cancers in the UK is the choroid (2016-2018).
  • Eye cancer incidence rates in England in females are similar in the most deprived quintile compared with the least, and in males are similar in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017).
  • An estimated 5,800 people who had previously been diagnosed with eye cancer were alive in the UK at the end of 2010.

See more in-depth eye cancer incidence statistics

  • There are around 130 eye cancer deaths in the UK every year, that's more than 2 every week (2017-2019).
  • Eye cancer is not among the 20 most common causes of cancer death in the UK, accounting for less than 1% of all cancer deaths (2017-2019).
  • In females in the UK, eye cancer is not among the 20 most common causes of cancer death, with around 60 deaths every year (2017-2019).
  • In males in the UK, eye cancer is not among the 20 most common causes of cancer death, with around 70 deaths every year (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for eye cancer in the UK are highest in people aged 90+ (2017-2019).
  • Each year around 4 in 10 of all eye cancer deaths (39%) in the UK are in people aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the early 1970s, eye cancer mortality rates have decreased by half (50%) in the UK. Rates in females have decreased by almost three-fifths (55%), and rates in males have decreased by almost half (47%) (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, eye cancer mortality rates have remained stable in the UK. Rates in females have remained stable, and rates in males have remained stable (2017-2019).
  • Eye cancer mortality rates are projected to rise by 16% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around around 190 deaths of eye cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.

See more in-depth eye cancer mortality statistics

  • 6 in 10 (60%) people diagnosed with eye cancer in England survive their disease for ten years or more, it is predicted (2009-2013).
  • Eye cancer ten-year survival in England is similar in females and males (2009-2013).
  • Almost 9 in 10 (87.7%) people in England diagnosed with eye cancer aged 15-44 survive their disease for five years or more, compared with three-quarters (75.4%) of people diagnosed aged 75-99 (2016-2020).
  • For eye cancer, like other cancer sites, survival trends reflect a combination of changes in treatment and stage distribution. These factors themselves can vary by age, sex and deprivation.
  • Further survival statistics by stage can be found on the Early Diagnosis Data Hub and information on treatments for cancer can be found here.
  • Further one-, five- and ten-year survival statistics can be found on the Cancer Statistics Dashboard.

  • A person’s risk of developing cancer depends on many factors, including age, genetics, and exposure to risk factors (including some potentially avoidable lifestyle factors).
  • 1 in 660 UK females and 1 in 600 UK males will be diagnosed with eye cancer in their lifetime (born in 1961).

See more in-depth eye cancer risk statistics

See our new Early Diagnosis Data Hub for statistics on routes to diagnosis and screening uptake/coverage (for relevant cancer types)
 
See our COVID and cancer key stats for the most up-to-date statistics on early diagnosis and other metrics.
 

See the interactive cancer treatment online tool produced by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS) in partnership with Cancer Research UK (CRUK). This presents, for the first time, population-based statistics on chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgical tumour resections in England, by demographic factors and geography.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the many organisations across the UK which collect, analyse, and share the data which we use, and to the patients and public who consent for their data to be used. Find out more about the sources which are essential for our statistics.