Alarming rise in three deadly cancers worries experts – as rates for other types fall: ‘It’s set to get worse’
Cancer deaths in the UK have fallen to their lowest level on record – but three types are rising sharply, experts warn.
New figures from Cancer Research UK show that while overall cancer mortality continues to decline, deaths from liver, womb and head and neck cancers are moving in the opposite direction.
Head and neck cancer is an umbrella term covering cancers of the mouth, throat, voice box, nose, sinuses and salivary glands.
Research suggests HPV may be responsible for a large share of oropharyngeal cancers – those affecting the back of the throat, tonsils and base of the tongue.
The virus, which is spread through close contact including sexual activity, is usually harmless. But in some people it can go on to trigger cancer.
The rise in head and neck cancers, particularly among younger and middle-aged adults, has been linked to HPV infections. Warning signs include mouth ulcers that do not heal, a hoarse voice and unexplained lumps in the mouth or neck.
Liver cancer is now one of the fastest-rising causes of cancer death in the UK, with mortality rates almost twice as high as they were 20 years ago.
Over the past two decades, tens of thousands of people have died from the disease, and experts believe the toll could climb further in the years ahead.
Cancer deaths in the UK have fallen to their lowest level on record – but three types are rising sharply, experts warn
Mouth ulcers that don’t heal, a hoarse voice and unexplained lumps in the mouth are all warning signs of mouth cancer
A growing and ageing population, combined with mounting pressure on the NHS, is thought to be contributing to the rise, making it harder to sustain progress across all cancers.
Despite this, the overall picture remains encouraging. UK cancer death rates are now 29 per cent lower than their peak in 1989, with around 250 deaths per 100,000 people each year between 2022 and 2024 – an 11 per cent drop in just the past decade.
Cervical cancer has been one of the biggest success stories, with deaths falling by 75 per cent over the last 50 years, thanks largely to the HPV vaccine.
Around 6.5 million people in the UK have now received the jab, which could prevent up to 90 per cent of cervical cancer cases.
Deaths have also fallen significantly for stomach cancer, testicular cancer and Hodgkin lymphoma.
Targeted drugs including abiraterone for prostate cancer and temozolomide for brain tumours have also helped many patients live longer.
But the rise in liver, womb and head and neck cancers is a stark reminder that progress is uneven.
Experts say late diagnosis remains a major problem, especially for aggressive or hard-to-spot cancers, making prevention, earlier detection and better treatments more important than ever.
This data shows that in the UK, cases of throat cancer have been trending upward
The warning comes amid separate reports that adults in Britain under 49 are now about 50 per cent more likely to develop bowel cancer than people of the same age in the early 1990s.
One of the best-known victims of the disease was broadcaster and campaigner Dame Deborah James – known as Bowel Babe – who was diagnosed at 35 and died in 2022 aged 40.
Similar trends are also being seen in the US, Australia and dozens of other countries, even as bowel cancer rates among over-50s appear to be falling. Obesity, inactivity and alcohol are all known to raise the risk.
Cancer Research UK is now funding vaccines designed to train the immune system to prevent other forms of cancer, alongside research into personalised treatments and immunotherapy, raising hopes of further breakthroughs in the decade ahead.
The charity is also urging political leaders in Wales and Scotland to match the ambitions of England’s National Cancer Plan, in the hope that 2026 could become a turning point for cancer care across the UK.
