Cancer mortality rate in the UK has fallen by 16% over the last 20 years | UK News

The all-cause death rate from cancer has fallen by 16% since Cancer Research UK was founded, according to new data from the charity.

It was said that around 310 people in every 100,000 died from cancer in the UK every year in the early 2000s – but now it’s around 260.

Factors said to include improvements in screening programs, research into more effective treatments and strategies that help prevent cancer from developing in the first place.

In some cancers, such as cervical cancer, the mortality rate has fallen even more Cancer with a minus of 33%.

Lung cancer survival rates have also doubled. In the mid-2000s, around 10% of people with the disease in England survived at least five years, now it’s 20%.

Cancer Research UK said this was partly due to the research it has funded into early detection and treatment.

‘Improvements in cancer mortality rates are the result of widespread contributions from across the research landscape, but it is clear that the impact of CRUK was an important part of this progress,’ said the charity.

Around £5.4 billion has been invested since its inception in February 2002, involving 3,000 researchers in 350 institutions. It plans at least a further £1.5bn in research spending over the next five years.

It said medicines linked to its research are used to treat more than 125,000 patients in England each year.

Chief Executive Michelle Mitchell said, “Every penny donated has helped revolutionize the way we know about cancer and saved many lives.”

However, she said there was “a long way to go” as cancer targets are still being missed and the UK lags behind comparable countries on survival rates.