Cancer incidence in Scotland
To December 2023

About this release

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) provides an annual update of cancer incidence statistics in Scotland covering the year 2023. All cancer types are included. Generally, cancer incidence statistics should be interpreted within the context of long-term trends.

Main points

• In 2023, there were 37,202 new cancers registered in Scotland (18,769 in males and 18,433 in females), an increase of 1% compared with 2022. This is in line with a long-term trend of increasing number of cancer diagnoses over time (33,008 cancer registrations in 2014) and is the largest recorded number of new cancers diagnosed in a year in Scotland.
• Overall, there has been no significant change in rates, or risks, of developing cancer in either men or women in the last ten years, although each cancer differs. Increases in the number of older people in Scotland is behind much of the overall increase in the number of cancers over time.
• The most common cancers in Scotland in 2023 were prostate, breast, lung, and colorectal, in descending order of frequency, accounting for 56% of all diagnoses. Over the decade to 2023, in men, the rate of prostate cancer increased by 33% and malignant melanoma increased by 19%. There were significant falls in the rates of lung cancer (down 25%) and bladder cancer (down 7%). Over the same period in women there were significant increases in rates of breast cancer (up 11%), colorectal cancer (up 8%), and malignant melanoma of the skin (up by a third, 36%). There were significant decreases for lung cancer (down 8%) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (down 16%).

Line chart showing the nmber of registrations for the top four cancer in Scotland between 2014 and 2023. Prostate cancer was the fourth most common 2014. It was the most common cancer in 2023.

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The number of registrations for the four most common cancers in Scotland, 2014-2023

• For people under 50 years old, the risk of colorectal cancer has increased significantly (an increase of 49% between 2013 and 2023, rising from 6 per 100,000 to 9 per 100,000). The increase was largest in females (up 64% in females vs. 34% in males). Research is currently ongoing to understand why this is happening.
• Rates of both cervical cancer and pre-cancerous cervical changes (cancer in situ of cervix uteri) have greatly reduced in females aged 20-29 because of the human papilloma virus vaccination programme in school children, which began in 2008.
• There continues to be a large unrealised potential to prevent many cancers ever occurring. Smoking, obesity, sunburn and ultraviolet radiation from sunbeds, and alcohol consumption are among the avoidable risks for cancer in Scotland. There have been successes in cancer prevention. Reductions in lung cancer reflect success in reducing prevalence of smoking over the past few decades.
• Cancers detected through the bowel, breast and cervical screening programmes are about twice as likely to be diagnosed at an early stage, where treatment is more effective. There remains room for higher uptake of cancer screening to realise its benefits in Scotland.

Background

The Scottish Cancer Registry collects information on every cancer in Scotland and uses the data to inform cancer control. Cancer registrations are believed to be essentially complete for the year 2023, but it is important to note that the cancer registration database is dynamic (e.g. late registrations for 2023 can still be recorded after these figures have been published). Reporting of "All cancers" by convention excludes non-melanoma skin cancers although every cancer is registered.

Cancer incidence reflects risk factors for developing cancer, efforts to detect cancer (e.g. public awareness, screening programmes and the impact of the pandemic on diagnosis pathways) and the at-risk population (which is increasing due to an ageing and expanding population).  Population data were not available to produce information on the impact of socio-economic deprivation for this publication, but a further report will be produced as soon as possible.

Further information

The next release of this publication will be in 2026.