Hodgkin lymphoma incidence statistics

Cases

New cases of Hodgkin lymphoma each year, 2017-2019 average, UK.

 

Proportion of all cases

Percentage Hodgkin lymphoma is of total cancer cases, 2017-2019, UK

 

Age

Peak rate of Hodgkin lymphoma cases, 2017-2019, UK

Trend over time

Change in hodgkin lymphoma incidence rates since the early 1990s, UK

 

Hodgkin lymphoma is not among the 20 most common cancers in the UK, accounting for less than 1% of all new cancer cases (2017-2019).[1-4]

In females in the UK, Hodgkin lymphoma is not among the 20 most common cancers (less than 1% of all new female cancer cases). In males in the UK, it is the 19th most common cancer (less than 1% of all new male cancer cases).

42% of Hodgkin lymphoma cases in the UK are in females, and 58% are in males.

Hodgkin lymphoma incidence rates (European age-standardised (AS) rate Open a glossary item) for persons are similar to the UK average in all the UK constituent countries.

Hodgkin Lymphoma (C81), Average Number of New Cases Per Year, Crude and European Age-Standardised (AS) Incidence Rates per 100,000 Population, UK, 2017-2019

  England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland UK
Female Cases 770 79 40 27 917
Crude Rate 2.7 2.8 2.5 2.9 2.7
AS Rate 2.7 2.8 2.5 2.9 2.7
AS Rate - 95% LCL 2.6 2.4 2.0 2.3 2.6
AS Rate - 95% UCL 2.9 3.2 2.9 3.6 2.8
Male Cases 1,045 111 55 38 1,249
Crude Rate 3.8 4.2 3.6 4.1 3.8
AS Rate 3.9 4.3 3.6 4.5 3.9
AS Rate - 95% LCL 3.8 3.8 3.0 3.7 3.8
AS Rate - 95% UCL 4.0 4.7 4.1 5.3 4.0
Persons Cases 1,815 190 95 66 2,166
Crude Rate 3.2 3.5 3.0 3.5 3.3
AS Rate 3.3 3.5 3.0 3.7 3.3
AS Rate - 95% LCL 3.2 3.2 2.6 3.1 3.2
AS Rate - 95% UCL 3.4 3.8 3.3 4.2 3.4
95% LCL and 95% UCL are the 95% lower and upper confidence limits around the AS Rate Open a glossary item

References

  1. England data were provided by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS), part of the National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) in NHS England, on request through the Office for Data Release, January 2023. Similar data can be found here: https://www.cancerdata.nhs.uk/ 

  2.  Northern Ireland data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) on request, October 2021. Similar data can be found here:http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/. 

  3. Welsh data were published by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (WCISU), Health Intelligence Division, Public Health Wales https://phw.nhs.wales/services-and-teams/welsh-cancer-intelligence-and-surveillance-unit-wcisu/cancer-reporting-tool-official-statistics/ June 2022. 

  4. Scotland data were provided by the Scottish Cancer Registry, Public Health Scotland (PHS) on request, May 2021. Similar data can be found here: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/show-all-releases?id=20468

About this data

Data is for UK, 2017-2019, ICD-10 C81.

Last reviewed:

In the UK in 2017-2019, on average each year almost 3 in 20 new cases (13%) were in people aged 75 and over.[1-4] This is a lower proportion of cases in older age groups compared with most cancers.

Age-specific incidence rates rise sharply during childhood and peak around age 20-29. Afterwards rates fluctuate from age 35-39 with a second peak between age 75-84. The highest rates are in the 20 to 24 age group for females and the 75 to 79 age group for males.

Incidence rates are significantly lower for females than males in a number of (mainly older) age groups. The gap is widest at age 05 to 09, when the age-specific incidence rate is 2.9 times lower for females than males.

Hodgkin Lymphoma (C81), Average Number of New Cases per Year and Age-Specific Incidence Rates per 100,000 Population, UK, 2017-2019

For Hodgkin lymphoma, there are two distinct peaks in incidence, one in young people and one in the oldest age groups. Cancer in children and young people usually has no known cause. For cancers in adulthood, increasing incidence with age largely reflects cell DNA damage accumulating over time. Damage can result from biological processes or from exposure to risk factors. A drop or plateau in incidence in the oldest age groups often indicates reduced diagnostic activity perhaps due to general ill health.

 

See also

Hodgkin lymphoma mortality statistics by age

Hodgkin lymphoma survival statistics by age

Cancer incidence statistics by age for all cancers

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma incidence statistics by age

References

  1. England data were provided by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS), part of the National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) in NHS England, on request through the Office for Data Release, January 2023. Similar data can be found here: https://www.cancerdata.nhs.uk/ 

  2.  Northern Ireland data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) on request, October 2021. Similar data can be found here:http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/. 

  3. Welsh data were published by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (WCISU), Health Intelligence Division, Public Health Wales https://phw.nhs.wales/services-and-teams/welsh-cancer-intelligence-and-surveillance-unit-wcisu/cancer-reporting-tool-official-statistics/ June 2022. 

  4. Scotland data were provided by the Scottish Cancer Registry, Public Health Scotland (PHS) on request, May 2021. Similar data can be found here: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/show-all-releases?id=20468

About this data

Data is for UK, 2017-2019, ICD-10 C81.

Last reviewed:

Hodgkin lymphoma European age-standardised (AS) Open a glossary item incidence rates for females and males combined increased by 38% in the UK between 1993-1995 and 2017-2019.[1-4] The increase was of a similar size in females and males.

For females, Hodgkin lymphoma AS incidence rates in the UK increased by 41% between 1993-1995 and 2017-2019. For males, Hodgkin lymphoma AS incidence rates in the UK increased by 36% between 1993-1995 and 2017-2019.

Over the last decade in the UK (between 2007-2009 and 2017-2019), Hodgkin lymphoma AS incidence rates for females and males combined increased by 12%. In females AS incidence rates increased by 11%, and in males rates increased by 14%.

Hodgkin Lymphoma (ICD-10 C81), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates, Persons Population, 1993 to 2019

Hodgkin lymphoma incidence rates have increased overall in most broad age groups in females and males combined in the UK since the early 1990s, but have remained stable in some.[1-4] Rates in 0-24s have increased by 32%, in 25-49s have increased by 22%, in 50-59s have remained stable, in 60-69s have increased by 37%, in 70-79s have increased by 108% and in 80+s have increased by 134%.

Hodgkin Lymphoma (ICD-10 C81), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates per 100,000 Persons Population, By Age, UK, 1993-2019

For Hodgkin lymphoma, like most cancer types, incidence trends largely reflect changing prevalence of risk factors and improvements in diagnosis and data recording. Recent incidence trends are influenced by risk factor prevalence in years past, and trends by age group reflect risk factor exposure in birth cohorts.

References

  1. England data were provided by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS), part of the National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) in NHS England, on request through the Office for Data Release, January 2023. Similar data can be found here: https://www.cancerdata.nhs.uk/ 

  2.  Northern Ireland data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) on request, October 2021. Similar data can be found here:http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/. 

  3. Welsh data were published by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (WCISU), Health Intelligence Division, Public Health Wales https://phw.nhs.wales/services-and-teams/welsh-cancer-intelligence-and-surveillance-unit-wcisu/cancer-reporting-tool-official-statistics/ June 2022. 

  4. Scotland data were provided by the Scottish Cancer Registry, Public Health Scotland (PHS) on request, May 2021. Similar data can be found here: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/show-all-releases?id=20468

About this data

Data is for UK, 1993-2019, ICD-10 C81.

Last reviewed:

The number of new hodgkin lymphoma cases on average each year in the UK is projected to rise from around 2,400 cases in 2023-2025 to around 2,900 cases in 2038-2040.[1]

Hodgkin lymphoma incidence rates are projected to rise by 13% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040, to 4 cases per 100,000 people on average each year by 2038-2040.[1] This includes a similar increase for males and females.

For females, hodgkin lymphoma European age-standardised (AS) Open a glossary item incidence rates in the UK are projected to rise by 11% between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040, to 3 cases per 100,000 per year by 2038-2040.[1] For males, AS rates are projected to rise by 14% between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040, to 5 cases per 100,000 per year by 2038-2040.[1]

Hodgkin lymphoma (C81), Observed and Projected Age-Standardised Incidence Rates, by Sex, UK, 1993-2040

Download the data table (xlsx)

 

See also

Find out how these projections were calculated

Incidence trends over time for Hodgkin lymphoma

Projections of incidence for all cancers combined

Hodgkin lymphoma risk

Download the projections data table

References

Calculated by the Cancer Intelligence Team at Cancer Research UK, February 2023. Age-period-cohort modelling approach described here, using 2020-based population projections (Office for National Statistics) and observed cancer incidence (1975-2018 for England, Scotland and Wales, 1993-2018 for Northern Ireland).

About this data

Projections are based on incidence data from 1975-2018 (England, Scotland and Wales) and 1993-2018 (Northern Ireland); the above figure presents all UK data from 1993-2018 (observed) and 2019-2040 (projected). Number of new cases and age-standardised rates are presented as annual averages for each 3-year rolling period. ICD-10 codes C81.

Projections are based on observed incidence rates and therefore implicitly include changes in cancer risk factors and diagnosis. Confidence intervals are not calculated for the projected figures. Projections are by their nature uncertain because unexpected events in future could change the trend. It is not sensible to calculate a boundary of uncertainty around these already uncertain point estimates. Changes are described as 'increase' or 'decrease' if there is any difference between the point estimates.

More on projections methodology

Last reviewed:

Hodgkin lymphoma incidence rates (European age-standardised (AS) rates Open a glossary item) in England in females are similar in the most deprived quintile compared with the least, and in males are 19% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017).[1]

It is estimated that there are around 85 more cases of Hodgkin lymphoma each year in males in England than there would be if every deprivation quintile had the same age-specific crude incidence rates as the least deprived quintile.

Hodgkin Lymphoma (C81), Estimated Average Number of Excess Cases per Year and European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates per 100,000 Population, by Deprivation Quintile, England, 2013-2017

No data are shown for females as the difference in age-standardised incidence rates between most and least deprived quintiles is not significant for females.

See also

Data table: Cancer incidence rates and excess cases by cancer type in England

Incidence by deprivation for all cancer types combined

Hodgkin lymphoma mortality by deprivation  (not directly comparable with incidence by deprivation)

Cancer incidence by deprivation for Scotland

Cancer incidence by deprivation for Wales

Cancer incidence by deprivation for Northern Ireland

References

  1. Calculated by the Cancer Intelligence Team at Cancer Research UK, April 2020. Based on method reported in National Cancer Intelligence Network Cancer by Deprivation in England Incidence, 1996-2010 Mortality, 1997-2011 . Using cancer incidence data 2013-2017 (Public Health England) and population data 2013-2017 (Office for National Statistics) by Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2015 income domain quintile, cancer type, sex, and five-year age band.

About this data

Data is for England, 2013-2017, ICD-10 C21.

Last reviewed:

An estimated 21,600 people who had been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma between 1991 and 2010 were alive in the UK at the end of 2010.[1]

See also

Hodgkin lymphoma incidence statistics by sex and UK country

What is prevalence?

References

  1. Macmillan Cancer Support and National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service. Cancer Prevalence UK Data Tables. London: NCRAS; 2015.

About this data

Data is for: Great Britain (1991-2010) and Northern Ireland (1993-2010), ICD-10 C81

Last reviewed:

Cancer stats explained

See information and explanations on terminology used for statistics and reporting of cancer, and the methods used to calculate some of our statistics.

Cancer stats explained

Citation

You are welcome to reuse this Cancer Research UK content for your own work.
Credit us as authors by referencing Cancer Research UK as the primary source. Suggested styles are:

Web content: Cancer Research UK, full URL of the page, Accessed [month] [year].
Publications: Cancer Research UK ([year of publication]), Name of publication, Cancer Research UK.
Graphics (when reused unaltered): Credit: Cancer Research UK.
Graphics (when recreated with differences): Based on a graphic created by Cancer Research UK.

When Cancer Research UK material is used for commercial reasons, we encourage a donation to our life-saving research.
Send a cheque payable to Cancer Research UK to: Cancer Research UK, 2 Redman Place, London, E20 1JQ or

Donate online

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the many organisations across the UK which collect, analyse, and share the data which we use, and to the patients and public who consent for their data to be used. Find out more about the sources which are essential for our statistics.