Report shows cancer survival rates improving, but number of women with fatal lung cancer is up
While the latest annual report from the National Cancer Registry (NCR) contains much to be upbeat about — long-term survival rates for men jumped almost 20 percentage points (up from 42% to 60%) for the period 2005-2009, compared to 1994-1999, and survival rates for women jumped 10 percentage points (from 52% to 62%) — the picture for those with lung cancer is more grim.
The number of women dying from lung cancer is the sixth highest in Europe, and death rates are 34% above the European average — and continuing to rise.
NCR director Dr Harry Comber said while the lung cancer rates reflected in their Cancer in Ireland 2013 report were largely a legacy of heavy smoking among women 15-20 years ago, a falloff was unlikely in the short-term because smoking rates among women only recently started to go down.
It is estimated that an average of 16 years of life were lost for females and 13 for males dying from cancer in 2010.
While overall cancer survival rates were improving, the number of cancer cases continues to rise by 3% annually and the number of deaths by about 1%. Dr Comber said screening for disease played a part in pushing up the incidence rate, particularly for breast and prostate cancer.
Dr Comber attributed improved survival rates to a combination of factors including improved surgical techniques; better access to chemotherapy; more oncologists; and more co-ordinated delivery of services through the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP). There was also a “greater willingness” to treat older people more aggressively, he said, where previously the attitude “used to be fatalistic”.
Dr Susan O’Keeffe, head of the NCCP predicted another 10% improvement in survival rates in the next decade, because of dramatically improved resources and service delivery. Since 2009, cancer treatment has been delivered to public patients in eight specialised centres where resources are concentrated under the NCCP.
Dr Marie Laffoy, community oncology adviser with the NCCP, said the focus for people who had been through cancer treatment and given the all-clear had to be on survivorship.
“Ten or 20 years ago we wouldn’t have been talking about survivorship. But nowadays the survival rate is very good and in order to stay well, survivors must be proactive and make sure they go for their annual checkups, maintain a good diet and above all, no smoking,” said Dr Laffoy.
Breast cancer remains the commonest cancer in women (32% of the total) and prostate cancer in men (31%). Lung cancer is the biggest killer, responsible for one in five of all deaths.
There are currently more than 100,000 cancer survivors in Ireland. About 25% of all survivors are women with breast cancer.
An average of 18,500 invasive (excluding non-melanoma skin) cancers was diagnosed per year between 2008 and 2010. The incident rate was 26% higher in men and the cumulative lifetime risk of diagnosis was one in three for men and one in four for women.
However, significant improvements has resulted in an almost equalisation of overall five-year relative survival rates between men and women.
