Vaginal cancer statistics

Cases

New cases of vaginal cancer, 2017-2019, UK

Deaths

Deaths from vaginal cancer, 2017-2019, UK.

Preventable cases

Vaginal cancer cases are preventable, UK, 2015

 

  • There are around 250 new vaginal cancer cases in the UK every year, that's around 5 every week (2017-2019).
  • In females in the UK, vaginal cancer is not among the 20 most common cancers, with around 250 new cases every year (2017-2019).
  • Vaginal cancer accounts for less than 1% of all new cancer cases in females in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Vaginal cancer accounts for less than 1% of all new cancer cases in females and males combined in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Incidence rates for vaginal cancer in the UK are highest in females aged 85 to 89 (2017-2019).
  • Each year more than a third (35%) of all new vaginal cancer cases in the UK are diagnosed in females aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the early 1990s, vaginal cancer incidence rates have decreased by a seventh (14%) in females in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, vaginal cancer incidence rates have remained stable in females in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Vaginal cancer incidence rates are projected to fall by 15% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around 220 new cases of vaginal cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Vaginal cancer incidence rates in England in females are 88% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017). Around 55 cases of vaginal cancer each year in England are linked with deprivation.
  • An estimated 1,200 women who had previously been diagnosed with vaginal cancer were alive in the UK at the end of 2010.

See more in-depth vaginal cancer incidence statistics

  • There are around 110 vaginal cancer deaths in the UK every year, that's around 2 every week (2017-2019).
  • Vaginal cancer is the not among the 20 most common causes of cancer death in females in the UK, accounting for less than 1% of all cancer deaths in females in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Vaginal cancer accounts for less than 1% of all cancer deaths in females and males combined in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for vaginal cancer in the UK are highest in females aged 90+ (2017-2019).
  • Each year half of all vaginal cancer deaths (50%) in the UK are in females aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the early 1970s, vaginal cancer mortality rates have decreased by almost half (47%) in females in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, vaginal cancer mortality rates have remained stable in females in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Vaginal cancer mortality rates are projected to rise by 9% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around around 160 deaths of vaginal cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Vaginal cancer deaths in England are more common in females living in the most deprived areas.

See more in-depth vaginal cancer mortality statistics

  • More than 8 in 10 women in England diagnosed with vagina or vulva cancer aged 15-49 survive their disease for five years or more, compared with almost 6 in 10 women diagnosed aged 70-89 (2009-2013).
  • Five-year relative survival for vaginal and vulval cancer in women is above the European average in England but similar to the European average in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Further details on cancer survival in Europe can be found on the EUROCARE website.
  • For vaginal 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 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 1600 UK females will be diagnosed with vaginal cancer in their lifetime (born in 1961).
  • 75% of vaginal cancer cases in the UK are preventable.

See more in-depth vaginal cancer risk statistics

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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.