Cancer death rates in the UK have fallen by nearly 10% over 10 years according to the latest analysis released on World Cancer Day by Cancer Research UK.
This now means that in 2013, 284 out of every 100,000 people in the UK died from cancer - around 162,000 people. A decade ago this was 312 in every 100, 000
The rate of cancer deaths has fallen, and this is largely due to improvements in detection, diagnosis and treatments, Cancer Research UK said.
Men's death rates have fallen by 12% from 397 for every 100,000 in 2003 to 349 per 100,000 in 2013. This compares to an 8% drop in women - falling from 259 per 100,000 women in 2003 to 240 in 2013. This equates to around 85,000 men and 77,000 women dying from cancer each year in the UK.
Four cancers - lung, bowel, breast and prostate - cause almost half (46%) of all cancer deaths in the UK.
The combined death rate for these four cancers mirrors the overall fall, dropping by around 11% over the last 10 years, from 146 people per 100,000 in 2003 to 131 people per 100,000 in 2013.
However, some cancers, such as liver and pancreatic, the rates of people dying from the disease have increased.
The research also warned as the population is growing and more people are living longer- and cancer is primarily a disease of old age - the total number of cancer deaths will increase.
Around four-fifths of cancer deaths occur in people aged 65 and over, and more than half occur in those aged 75 and older.
Sir Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research UK said: "Today on World Cancer Day it's important to remember that even though the death rates are falling, the overall number of people dying from cancer is expected to increase.
This is because the population is growing and more of us are living longer. Too many people are still being diagnosed with and dying from cancer, not just here in the UK but around the world.
"Today on World Cancer Day it's important to remember that even though the death rates are falling, the overall number of people dying from cancer is expected to increase. This is because the population is growing and more of us are living longer. Too many people are still being diagnosed with and dying from cancer, not just here in the UK but around the world."
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