People dying early of cancer costs the UK economy £10.3bn a year, more than any other health condition, a study has revealed.
That is the total cost of the 350,000 years of lost productivity recorded across Britain every year because adults have died prematurely of the disease, according to Cancer Research UK (CRUK).
Each early death costs the economy an average of £61,000, according to the charity’s first research into how much the country loses as a result of the growing toll of cancer diagnoses and deaths.
In 2021, cancer caused the loss of more productive years of life than any other condition – 350,000 years. Heart problems led to 257,000 years of lost productivity that year, while diseases of the digestive system caused 123,000 lost years and breathing conditions 85,000 years.
Michelle Mitchell, CRUK’s chief executive, said: “Cancer has an immeasurable impact on patients and their loved ones. But this report reveals there is also a significant economic cost. Behind the figures in this report are real people – friends, family and co-workers – whose lives are being cut short by cancer. Through improving cancer survival, we can also have a positive impact on our economy.”
The findings come as ministers wrestle with how a record 2.8 million people across the UK are too sick to work amid a sluggish economy.
The charity reached its conclusions by subtracting the person’s age at death from their expected age of death. They then calculated the economic value of the years of life lost to cancer by estimating that person’s total expected earnings and measuring how much of those were lost.
Deaths from lung cancer cost the UK more than any other form of the disease – £1.7bn. Those from bowel cancer cost £1.2bn while breast cancer fatalities cost £800m.
Those are the three cancers that cause the largest number of deaths from the disease at the youngest ages, which leads to the most productive life years lost. They also cause more deaths in men than women which, because men on average earn more than women, results in a larger financial loss.
Cancer deaths among people under the age of 50 lead to the annual loss of 119,000 lost years of productive life and a £3.2bn loss for the economy, the survey found. Those 119,000 lost years were from 5,900 people aged 15 to 49 dying in 2021.
Among 50- to 64-year-olds the toll is even higher – 167,000 lost years per year, costing £5.1bn.
David Finch, the assistant director of the healthy lives team at the Health Foundation thinktank, said: “CRUK’s findings are a sobering reminder of the increasing rising cost of ill health and disability in the working-age population, which is becoming ever more apparent.
“This issue is not going away with a projected 25% increase in the share of working-age people with diagnosed major illnesses by 2040.”
More people are being diagnosed with cancer and dying from it than ever before, mainly because of the ageing population and the impact of obesity.
There were 140,000 deaths a year from cancer between 1975 and 1977. The figure rose to 176,000 a year during 2023-25. CRUK says that on current trends it will increase to 208,000 deaths a year by 2038-40.
Finch said planned benefit cuts would hamper the government’s ambition to get more people well enough to start working again. “The government’s approach to tackling this is too short-term, with planned cuts to disability benefits likely to worsen people’s health and reduce their employment chances.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said its 10-year health plan, being published next week, “will set out how we will utilise the latest technology and techniques to improve cancer outcomes and transform care to give more families hope in the face of this devastating disease”.
“This includes rolling out DIY screening kits for cervical cancer, more radiotherapy machines in every region and opening more community diagnostic centres closer to where people live,” they said. “We are also making progress in tackling some of the biggest causes of cancer, including our landmark tobacco and vapes bill to create the first smoke-free generation, and restricting junk food advertising to tackle obesity.”