High rates expose need for more research

THE revelation that Ireland has the second highest incidence of cancer in Europe has exposed an urgent public health issue, campaigners argue.

The National Cancer Registry report shows that while more than 90,000 people are alive 15 years after their cancer diagnosis, overall cancer rates have risen by almost 50% since the mid-1990s.

Responding to the study, the Irish Cancer Society said the findings highlighted the scale of a growing and urgent public health issue for this country.

The society’s head of advocacy and communications, Kathleen O’Meara, suggested that better diagnosis and worsening lifestyle factors were contributing to the increase.

Pointing to the need for more research, Ms O’Meara said we needed to find out why, when nearly half of all cancers are preventable, there was an increase of 50% in the number diagnosed in Ireland.

“We know that the Irish population has issues around obesity and poor physical activity, which accounts for 30% of all cancers. Smoking is also a significant public health problem as it causes a further 30% of all cancers and nine out of 10 lung cancers,” she said.

Commenting on the report, NCR director Dr Harry Comber said a much more determined approach to prevention was now required in the face of the growing size and average age profile of the Irish population.

The report also revealed that the incidence of lung cancer and death from the disease among women was high in Ireland compared with other European countries, ranking fifth and sixth respectively.

Lung cancer has become the main cause of cancer death in women, outnumbering breast cancer deaths by 6%.

While both the incidence and mortality of lung cancer rates are falling in men, they are increasing by over 2% per year in women, with the largest increase — at 4% — in women under the age of 55.

The Irish Cancer society has claimed that the increase in the number of women dying from lung cancer was due to the tobacco industry specifically targeting women through highly effective marketing campaigns and feminising their product range.

Calling for more support to be given to women so they find it easier to quit, the society pointed out that many women continued to perceive smoking as being glamorous and as an effective way to control their weight.