Cancer Research UK’s latest report suggests that around 33,800 cancer cases every year across the UK are linked to deprivation — amounting to nearly 1 in 10 cancer cases across the UK.

People living in more deprived areas face challenges around income, employment, housing, education and access to services. And they can also have higher rates of some cancer risk factors, lower participation in cancer screening programmes and greater barriers to accessing healthcare services.

To understand the association between deprivation and cancer, researchers analysed national cancer and population data from 2019 to 2022. The findings add to the growing evidence that social and economic inequalities continue to affect people’s health across the UK.

“These figures are not only unacceptable but avoidable,“ says Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK. “Everyone deserves to live in an environment that gives them the best chance of a long and healthy life, free from cancer, yet stark health inequalities persist across the UK.”

Access the report here: UK Cancer Incidence by Deprivation 2019-2022