Former smokers just as likely to face lung cancer

Ex-smokers are just as likely to develop lung cancer in later life as those who fail to stub out the habit.

The finding has been made as part of a 10-year audit of cancer cases at one of Ireland’s leading cancer centres of excellence.

The research at Dublin’s St James’s Hospital, the first single-facility audit of its kind in this country, found that survival rates are significantly improving for a multitude of cancers.

This is specifically because of early screening, diagnosis, and a better understanding of the risk factors.

While the report has indicated mainly positive news for patients and doctors, it has warned that smokers are at grave risk of developing lung cancer — even if they give up the habit.

According to the in-depth study, over the past 10 years, 44% of lung cancer patients seen at St James’s have been smokers. About 700 of its 4,000 new cancer patients a year have been diagnosed with lung cancer. A further 45% have been ex-smokers, while just 11% of the group never started the habit.

Health Minister James Reilly said the news shows that “the sooner you give them up the better, but the best thing is never to take them up”.

Among other key findings are that Ireland’s cancer survival rates across all conditions are “consistent with best internal benchmarks”.

The study said Ireland has “excellent” cure rates for skin (85%), breast (80%), and ovarian (48%) cancer, while levels for oesophageal and lung cancer are also improving.

Due to the growing prevalence of screening programmes, people whose cancer is identified at the earliest stage one level have a 98% chance of surviving for more than five years — a point considered internationally to suggest the cancer has been beaten.

Due to improved treatments at facilities such as St James’s, even people diagnosed at stage four still have a 50% chance of living for at least another five years.

Dr Reilly said cancer rates are expected to increase over the coming decades due to lifestyle issues and an ageing population.

He was joined by experts of St James’s Hospital who said the audit is vital to patients who can now be told with a large degree of certainty what their chances of surviving a particular cancer will be.

Meanwhile, Dr Reilly called into question a Eurocare report which said people in Ireland diagnosed with cancer have a shorter survival period than the European average.

The report, published in the journal Lancet Oncology, said Ireland had fallen 10% below EU averages.

However, Dr Reilly said that “in absolute numbers cancer survival rates are improving”. He noted the data involved in the EU study was from 2007 — before many of Ireland’s current cancer screening programmes were imposed.

His remarks were echoed by Prof John Reynolds, head of surgery at St James’s, who hit out at the Eurocare report, claiming the research is riddled with a lack of access to up-to-date data.