{"id":338865,"date":"2026-03-10T14:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T14:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/338865\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T14:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T14:07:10","slug":"uk-cancer-death-rates-fall-to-the-lowest-level-on-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/338865\/","title":{"rendered":"UK cancer death rates fall to the lowest level on record"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cancer<\/a>Image: \u00a9 wildpixel | iStock
\n Cancer death rates in the UK have dropped by 29% since the 1980s and 11% over the past decade, driven by better prevention, screening and treatments<\/p>\n

Cancer death rates in the UK have fallen to their lowest level on record, according to new data from Cancer Research UK. The figures show an 11% fall in mortality over the past decade and a 29% drop since rates peaked in 1989. Experts say progress is being driven by advances in early detection, vaccines, screening programmes and more effective treatments, although work continues to address rising deaths from some less common cancers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese figures represent decades of crucial scientific breakthroughs \u2013 from vaccines that prevent cancer to kinder, more targeted treatments,\u201d said Dr Sam Godfrey, Cancer Research UK science engagement lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of this, thousands more people today can make memories, reach milestones, and spend precious time with their loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

Progress and remaining challenges with cancer
\nThe HPV vaccine, which protects against types of human papillomavirus linked to most cervical cancers,<\/a> has been pivotal in reducing cervical cancer cases, with 6.5 million people now receiving the vaccine in the UK.<\/p>\n

Death rates for other cancer types, such as stomach cancer, testicular cancer and Hodgkin\u2019s lymphoma, have reduced significantly. However, liver cancer, womb cancer, and head and neck cancer have all seen an increase in mortality rates in recent years.<\/p>\n

Some cancers, however, have not seen the same progress. Death rates for cancers that affect the brain and central nervous system have remained stable since the early 2000s. For example, the drug temozolomide was approved for use in the 2000s and has helped people with glioblastoma survive for longer.<\/p>\n

Cancer Research UK is funding LungVax<\/a>, OvarianVax, <\/a>and LynchVax<\/a>, three vaccines designed to prevent cancer by training the immune system to clear out cells with the potential to become cancerous.
\nNHS policies are key in driving death rates down
\nOne such policy initiative is the recently published National Cancer Plan,<\/a> which is an important step towards improving cancer outcomes in England. Its measures, together with policy action on preventable risk factors such as smoking and the roll-out of nationwide screening programmes for breast, bowel and cervical cancers, are critical in continuing this progress.<\/p>\n

Looking to the future, experts caution that such progress must not be taken for granted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe UK has been a global leader in cancer research, but we can\u2019t take progress for granted,\u201d said Godfrey. \u201cIt\u2019s essential that the Government makes it easier and faster to set up clinical trials, as well as providing NHS staff with the time and space to carry out life-saving research.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Image: \u00a9 wildpixel | iStock Cancer death rates in the UK have dropped by 29% since the 1980s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":338866,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[103,61,60,782,9990,64425],"class_list":["post-338865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-nhs","tag-uk-government","tag-vaccinations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=338865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/338866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=338865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=338865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=338865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}