Overall cancer death rates have dropped 16% since Cancer Research UK was founded, according to new data from the charity.
It says around 310 out of 100,000 people died from cancer each year in the UK in the early 2000s – but today that figure is around 260.
Factors are thought to include improving screening programs, research into more effective treatments, and strategies that help prevent cancer from forming in the first place.
Some cancers have seen even greater reductions in mortality, such as cervical cancer. cancer with a 33% discount.
Lung cancer survival rates also doubled. In the mid-2000s, around 10% of people with the disease in the UK survived at least 5 years, now 20%.
Cancer Research UK says it’s partly due to research it has funded for early diagnosis and treatment.
The charity said: “The improvements in cancer mortality are the result of widespread contributions from across the research landscape. But it is clear that CRUK’s impact is an important part of the cause. this process”.
Around £5.4 billion has been invested since it was founded in February 2002, involving 3,000 researchers across 350 institutions. It plans to spend at least £1.5 billion on research over the next five years.
It said the drugs involved in its study are used to treat more than 125,000 patients in the UK each year.
“Every penny raised has helped revolutionize what we know about cancer and saves lives,” said CEO Michelle Mitchell.
However, she says there is “still a long way to go” as cancer treatment targets are still being missed and the UK lags behind comparable countries in survival rates.
