--- ---  # Cancer Is Now the Number 1 Killer of Men in the UK by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jun 3, 2015 10:30 PM UTC  Elizabeth Renstrom for TIME by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jun 3, 2015 10:30 PM UTC A [new report](http://heart.bmj.com/looup/doi/10.1136/heartjnl-2015-307516) shows that in the U.K., cancer has surpassed cardiovascular disease as the most common cause of death, but only among men. The research published in _The BMJ_ looked at the national data on both cancer and heart disease in countries in the U.K. from 2012 to 2013\. Among men, fewer were dying of heart-related disease like high blood pressure and stroke than they have been in the past. Thirty-two percent of deaths among men were cancer-related and 29% were from heart disease. For women, 27% of deaths were from cancer and 28% from heart disease. Overall, in 2012 the researchers reported that the proportion of deaths from cancer was 29% and cardiovascular disease related-deaths came out to 28%. England had the lowest rate of heart conditions and Scotland had the highest. It’s unclear what precisely is responsible for the drop in heart-related disease, but it’s known that in some cases, heart disease is preventable with lifestyle changes. Cancer Surpasses Heart Disease as Number One Killer in the U.K. For Men ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3908152/cancer-is-now-the-number-1-killer-of-men-in-the-uk/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3908152/cancer-is-now-the-number-1-killer-of-men-in-the-uk/"},"headline":"Cancer Is Now the Number 1 Killer of Men in the UK","datePublished":"2015-06-03T22:30:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:53:26.928Z","description":"Women are still more likely to die of heart disease than cancer","url":"https://time.com/3908152/cancer-is-now-the-number-1-killer-of-men-in-the-uk/","keywords":["Heart Disease","women","Cancer","Men","uk","cardiovascular disease"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5745fd9e53c0fe18/698778965f570f47e0b148f6/health-gloves.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5745fd9e53c0fe18/698778965f570f47e0b148f6/health-gloves.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TIME.com stock photos Health First Aid Kit Gloves","caption":"TIME.com stock photos Health First Aid Kit Gloves","creditText":"Elizabeth Renstrom for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/heart-disease/","name":"Heart Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3908152/cancer-is-now-the-number-1-killer-of-men-in-the-uk/","name":"Cancer Is Now the Number 1 Killer of Men in the UK"}}]}] ```