Report: Cancer survival rates rapidly increasing

SURVIVAL from cancer in Ireland is rapidly increasing, a report published by the National Cancer Registry shows.

The report that looked at the patients diagnosed with cancer between 1994 and 2004 found a 9% improvement in the five-year survival rate.

The only exception in all the main cancers looked at was lung cancer, where there was only a minimal improvement in survival.

It also found that there was a reduction in geographic differences in treatment and survival for all the main cancers — breast, bowel, lung and prostate

While patients still fare better in the east, compared with the west and south, the gap was narrowing.

National Cancer Registry director Dr Harry Comber said there had been a “rapid” increase in survival from cancer over the 10-year period. “It means that we are definitely on the right track in the provision of cancer services,” said Dr Comber, who published the report to coincide with the National Cancer Conference in Dublin. Dr Comber said the study was conducted before the launch of the national cancer control programme led by Professor Tom Keane.

“I am sure when we look at the situation again in 2010 that the divide will have narrowed significantly,” he said.

The study found that area disparities for bowel, breast and prostate cancers have reduced, compared with the period from 1994 to 1999.

It also shows that during the period 2000 to 2004, colorectal, lung and breast cancer patients surgically treated in the country’s eight specialist centres had a better chance of survival, compared with other public acute general hospitals.

But the chances of survival for colorectal, prostate or breast cancer patients treated in private hospitals were even better than those treated in the specialist centres.

Dr Comber said it was difficult to interpret the finding in relation to the private hospitals because of the possible involvement of socioeconomic factors, something the registry was now trying to measure.

He pointed out that people with private insurance who were treated in private hospitals were better off and generally had a healthier lifestyle. “With the major public and private hospitals sharing the same consultants there could not be a real difference in terms of the treatment,” he said.

Dr Comber, referring to another report on cancer projections for 2005 to 2035, said cancer was now killing more people than heart disease in Ireland.

He pointed out that the cancer burden was increasing relentlessly — nothing really could be done about that over the next 10 to 15 years because the risk factors were already established.

Over the period 2010 to 2020, the total number of cancers is expected to increased by 40% for women and by just over 50% for men. An increase is expected for all common cancer types, ranging from 1% for kidney cancer to 78% for non-melanoma skin cancer in men and from 6% for stomach cancer to 66% for kidney cancer in women.

There are 22,000 new cases of cancer diagnosed every year and 6,000 die from the disease, and the number of cancer cases is expected double over the next 10 years.