Overview

• Cancer incidence in Great Britain has risen by nearly 50% since the early 1970s to 607 cases per 100,000 people, while death rates have fallen by around 22% to 252 per 100,000.
• Survival outcomes have improved markedly, with half of patients now living at least 10 years post-diagnosis, yet just 54% of cancers are detected at stages one or two.
• Younger adults (aged 20–49) face a 23% rise in incidence since the early 1990s, a trend linked to risk factors like smoking, obesity, poor diet and sedentary lifestyles.
• Less survivable cancers of the brain, pancreas, liver, lung, oesophagus and stomach account for 42% of deaths and could see 7,500 lives saved annually through faster diagnosis.
• Advocates urge the upcoming National Cancer Plan for England to adopt recommendations—from a national lung screening programme to enhanced GP referral pathways—after the NHS’s Plan for Change delivered 90,000 extra urgent referrals since last July.