The government wants cancer rates to fall to 20% by 2010

Figures released by the Department of Health reveal mortality rates from cancer in those under the age of 75 have dropped by 15.7% since 1996.

And the deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) are down by 35.9%.

The Department of Health said there was a continuing trend in reduced mortality for these diseases.

They said an estimated 50,000 lives had been saved from deaths due to cancer and almost 150,000 from CVD, based on data from the Office for National Statistics.

Heart and circulatory disease remains the UK's biggest killer, accounting for over 216,000 deaths in 2004 Steve Shaffelburg, BHF

They added that the government is on track to hit their targets for 2010.

By this time they want to reduce cancer death rates by at least 20% and CVD mortality, which includes heart disease, stroke and related circulatory diseases, by at least 40%.

Steve Shaffelburg, policy manager at the British Heart Foundation (BHF) said: "We're delighted today's statistics show the continuing falling trend in heart disease deaths that we've maintained in the UK since the late 1970s.

"However, there is much still to do. Heart and circulatory disease remains the UK's biggest killer, accounting for over 216,000 deaths in 2004, and there's a danger that this death rate may start to rise again if our country's heart-unfriendly lifestyles do not improve - in particular the UK's growing obesity epidemic.

"And death rates only tell half the story. While the number dying from heart disease is falling, our estimates show the number living with it appears to be rising, with approximately 2.6 million people now living with coronary heart disease in the UK."

Professor Alex Markham, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said the figures were good news.

"This steady trend can largely be attributed to fewer people dying from smoking-related cancers.