The death rate for people under 75 from cancer has fallen steadily over the past decade, according to figures published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

The new statistics show that across England cancer has remained the top cause of death among under-75s over the past decade, but that the cancer death rate in this age group fell by 14.7 per cent between 2003 and 2013.

For every 100,000 people in England aged 74 and younger, 142 died from cancer in 2013 compared to 166 in 20034.

The report also includes regional analysis which shows that the fall observed nationally has not been reflected across the country.

Out of the 326 local authority areas used in the report, the death rate from cancer among under-75s fell in 298 areas and rose in 246.

Looking at the local authority areas, the largest fall in the death rate over the decade was 39.1 per cent (from 156.9 to 95.6 per 100,000 residents), which was recorded in Spelthorne in the South West region.

The largest increase was 29.5 per cent (from 149.3 to 193.3 per 100,000 residents), which was observed in Copeland in the North West of England.

For both men and women the first and second common forms of cancer leading to death were cancers of the digestive organs and cancers of the respiratory and intrathoracic organs.

For men the third most common form was cancers of the genital organs and for women it was breast cancer.

The NHS Outcomes Framework report also shows:

For men under 75:

• 10,948 men under 75 died from cancers of the digestive organs in 2013, an increase of 3.0 per cent from the 10,630 deaths in 2003
• 8,677 men under 75 died from cancers of respiratory and intrathoracic organs in 2013, a 7.0 per cent fall from 9,330 deaths in 2003
• 2,381 men died  from cancers of the genital organs in 2013, a 9.7 per cent fall from 2,636 in 2003

For women under 75:

• 6,451 women under 75 died from cancers of the digestive organs in 2013, a 10.2 per cent rise from 5,856 in 2003
• 6,497 women under 75 died from cancers of respiratory and intrathoracic organs in 2013, an increase of 15.7 per cent on 5,617 in 2003
• 5,810 women under 75 died from breast cancer in 2013, a 13.3 per cent fall from 5,037 in 2003

HSCIC Chair Kingsley Manning said: “As the report shows, cancer kills more people under 75 than any other cause and so most of us will have been touched in some way by this. So many people will take a keen interest in these statistics and the story they tell about the overall drop across the country and the different pictures in local areas.”

Source: HSCIC