Statistics reveal the scale of brain tumour deaths amongst the young

2 min read

To mark the start of Brain Tumour Awareness Month Brain Tumour Research is shining a spotlight on the continued underfunding for brain tumours.

Figures for England and Wales, from the Office for National Statistics, show that:

  • For the under 50s, brain tumours account for one in 10 cancer deaths
  • For children (those aged under 15 years), brain tumours account for one in three deaths from cancer

Yet, according to figures from the National Cancer Research Institute for 2018/19, only 2% of the UK’s investment in cancer research is now allocated to this devastating disease (just 1% since records began). That means research into brain tumours receives:

  • three times less than prostate cancer, from which only 12 males under the age of 50 died in 2018
  • five times less than leukaemia, which kills half as many under 50s than brain tumours
  • seven times less than breast cancer, despite the fact that breast cancer only kills 1.5 times more people under 50 than brain tumours.

You can help us improve these shocking statistics by supporting Brain Tumour Awareness Month, which culminates in Brain Tumour Research’s Wear A Hat Day!

Your support will help us get closer to a cure for brain tumours.

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