New official statistics from Public Health Wales show that there has been a 10 per cent increase in new cancer cases in Wales between 2006 and 2015.  There were 19,088 new cases of cancer in 2015 compared to 17,389 in 2006. The increase in cancer cases is part of a long term trend in Wales. The main reason is the increase in older working-aged people in the population, the result of people living longer and the changing trends of cancer risk factors in our society.

 

Although getting older is the main risk factor for most types of cancer, the highest number of new cases is now in 65-69 year-olds, which is ten years younger than in 2006. One in three new cases of cancer now occurs in people under 65 years old.

 

The figures, published by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (WCISU), show that once the ageing of the population is taken into account, the trend in the cancer rate per 100,000 people decreased by over five per cent in men, but showed an increase of over five per cent in women from 2006 to 2015.

 

See the Public Health Wales website for more information.