Cervical cancer statistics

Cases

New cases of cervical cancer each year, 2016-2018 average, UK.

Deaths

Deaths from cervical cancer, 2017-2019, UK.

Survival

Survive cervical cancer for 10 or more years, 2013-2017, England

Preventable cases

Cervical cancer cases are preventable, UK, 2015

  • There are around 3,200 new cervical cancer cases in the UK every year, that's nearly 9 every day (2016-2018).
  • In females in the UK, cervical cancer is the 14th most common cancer, with around 3,200 new cases every year (2016-2018).
  • Cervical cancer accounts for 2% of all new cancer cases in females in the UK (2016-2018).
  • Cervical cancer accounts for less than 1% of all new cancer cases in females and males combined in the UK (2016-2018).
  • Incidence rates for cervical cancer in the UK are highest in females aged 30 to 34 (2016-2018).
  • Each year around a tenth (9%) of all new cervical cancer cases in the UK are diagnosed in females aged 75 and over (2016-2018).
  • Since the early 1990s, cervical cancer incidence rates have decreased by a quarter (25%) in females in the UK (2016-2018).
  • Over the last decade, cervical cancer incidence rates have remained stable in females in the UK (2016-2018).
  • See our new Early Diagnosis Data Hub for statistics on stage at diagnosis for cervical cancer.
  • Cervical cancer incidence rates in England in females are 65% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017).
  • Around 520 cases of cervical cancer each year in England are linked with deprivation.
  • Incidence rates for cervical cancer are lower in the Asian and Black ethnic groups, compared with the White ethnic group, in females in England (2013-2017). See our publication Cancer Incidence by Broad Ethnic Group for more details.
  • An estimated 34,800 women who had previously been diagnosed with cervical cancer were alive in the UK at the end of 2010.

See more in-depth cervical cancer incidence statistics

  • There are around 27,500 new cervical carcinoma in situ cases in the UK every year, that's 75 every day (2015-2017).
  • In females in the UK, cervical carcinoma in situ accounted for around 25,200 new cancer cases in 2017.
  • Incidence rates for cervical carcinoma in situ in the UK are highest in females aged 25 to 29 (2016-2018).
  • Each year less than 1% (0%) of all new cervical carcinoma in situ cases in the UK are diagnosed in females aged 75 and over (2016-2018).
  • Since the early 1990s, cervical carcinoma in situ incidence rates have increased by a twentieth (5%) in females in the UK (2016-2018).
  • Over the last decade, cervical carcinoma in situ incidence rates have decreased by a tenth (10%) in females in the UK (2016-2018).
  • Cervical carcinoma in situ incidence rates in England in females are 18% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017).
  • Around 2,000 cases of cervical carcinoma in situ each year in England are linked with deprivation.

See more in-depth in situ cervical carcinoma incidence statistics

  • There are around 850 cervical cancer deaths in the UK every year, that's more than 2 every day (2017-2019).
  • Cervical cancer is the the 19th most common cause of cancer death in females in the UK, accounting for 1% of all cancer deaths in females in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Cervical cancer accounts for less than 1% of all cancer deaths in females and males combined in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for cervical cancer in the UK are highest in females aged 90+ (2017-2019).
  • Each year more than a quarter of all cervical cancer deaths (28%) in the UK are in females aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the early 1970s, cervical cancer mortality rates have decreased by three-quarters (75%) in females in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, cervical cancer mortality rates have decreased by around a sixth (18%) in females in the UK (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for cervical and uterine cancers combined are generally similar or higher in females of non-White minority ethnicity, compared with the White ethnic group, in England and Wales (2017-2019). See the publication Mortality from leading causes of death by ethnic group, England and Wales.
  • Cervical cancer deaths in England are more common in females living in the most deprived areas.

See more in-depth cervical cancer mortality statistics

  • Around 1 in 2 (51.2%) women diagnosed with cervical cancer in England survive their disease for ten years or more, it is predicted (2013-2017).
  • Almost 9 in 10 (86.8%) women in England diagnosed with cervical cancer aged 15-44 survive their disease for ten years or more, compared with almost 1 in 5 (18.2%) of women diagnosed aged 75-99 (2013-2017).
  • Cervical cancer survival has increased in the last 50 years in the UK.
  • In the 1970s, almost half (46.1%) of women diagnosed with cervical cancer survived their disease beyond ten years, by the 2010s it was almost two-thirds (63.0%).
  • Two-thirds (65.7%) of women in England diagnosed with cervical cancer in the least deprived group survive their disease for five years or more, compared with almost 6 in 10 (56.2%) women in the most deprived group (2016-2020).
  • Five-year relative survival for cervical cancer in women is below the European average in England, Wales and Scotland but similar to the European average in Northern Ireland. Further details on cancer survival in Europe can be found on the EUROCARE website.
  • For cervical 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.

Find further information on our cervical cancer survival trends page

  • 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 130 UK females will be diagnosed with cervical cancer in their lifetime (born in 1961).
  • 99.8% of cervical cancer cases in the UK are preventable.
  • 99.8% of cervical cancer cases in the UK are caused by infections.
  • 21% of cervical cancer cases in the UK are caused by smoking.

See more in-depth cervical cancer risk statistics

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.