Lung cancer death rates for Irish females 34% higher than the EU average
The figures in relation to women and lung cancer make for grim reading — while the incidence rate in men declined steadily between 1994 and 2012, for females it increased by over 2% per annum.
The female death rate also increased annually by 0.5%, while for men, the rate declined by almost 2% per annum.
The report also reveals the incidence rate of lung cancer in Irish women (i.e. the rate at which new lung cancers were diagnosed) was 55% higher than the EU 2012 estimate.
The report’s authors describe the male/female contrast in relation to lung cancer as “striking”.
NCR director Dr Harry Comber said that the upward trend in lung cancer in women was essentially a hangover from the 1990s.
“Men started to cut back on smoking in the ’80s, but the reduction in women didn’t occur until the 1990s and that’s reflected in the figures.
“The biggest impact of lung cancer is still among older women aged 65-70 who were smoking quite heavily 20 years ago.
“It’s likely the figures will start to flatten out and decline over the next two to three years.”
However, he said the number of young women smoking was “worrying”.
Also worrying was the increase in mortality rates from melanoma skin cancer in men, Dr Comber said.
The incidence rate in men increased by almost 5% between 1994-2012, while the death rate jumped almost 6%.
Dr Comber said the figures suggested over-exposure to the sun — most melanoma is due to damage caused by UV rays.
“This is a cancer that has become quite common having been rare. A lot of older men are not terribly aware about the significance of changes in moles and skin lesions and don’t do anything about it until it is quite advanced.”
He said melanoma skin cancer tended to be a more urban problem, affecting the better-off, suggesting a recreational link.
For prostate cancer, the incidence rate increased dramatically between 1994-2004 but Dr Comber said this probably reflected large-scale PSA testing (test for prostate cancer).
Overall, Irish age-standardised cancer incidence rates were considerably higher than the EU average in 2012, at 500/100,000 for men compared to an EU figure of 453/100,000, and at 382/100,000 for women compared to 330/100,000 in the EU.
The NCR said the higher male rates were partly due to increased diagnosis of prostate cancer in Ireland, while for women, the figure was driven by higher incidence of lung, breast and colorectal cancer.
Compared with the EU as a whole, estimated cancer mortality rates in Ireland in 2012 were 14% higher for Irish women but 9% lower for Irish men.
The good news is that cancer survival rates are improving, largely due to improvements in treatment. Less positive is the news that the number of elderly patients having treatment for tumours is low.
The NCR annual report Cancer in Ireland 1994-2012, can be viewed at www.ncri.ie
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