This article examines trends in cancer incidence by deprivation in England and Wales, and at the Government Office Region (GOR) and Wales level over the period 1990-2002. The aim is to show whether the deprivation gap in cancer incidence between patients living in the least deprived areas and those in the most deprived has widened or narrowed over time for the three main cancers, breast (female), prostate and lung cancer. The results show that the deprivation gap in lung cancer incidence has widened in the majority of GORs and Wales, particularly in males. For prostate cancer, where incidence was generally higher among those living in the least deprived areas, the deprivation gap has also widened in the majority of GORs and Wales.