Scottish cancer deaths have reached their highest level in more than 30 years, according to official figures.
There were 15,561 deaths attributed to "malignant neoplasms" in the year to June, the highest figure since recent records began in 1979.
There were 3,943 cancer deaths between April and June this year, the highest number of deaths in a three-month period since the tail end of 1993, according to statistics released by the General Register Office for Scotland.
Statisticians said the figures should be interpreted with care, pointing out that the average age of cancer deaths has been rising for many years.
The average age at death from cancer was around 68 thirty years ago and is now about 72.
The "age-standardised death rate for cancer", which takes account of the change in the age-distribution of the population, has fallen by about a sixth since the start of the 1980s.
