Get the facts right regarding cancer statistics

I READ with interest the article published last week on the WHO report on cancer rates. There are a number of inaccuracies in the report in relation to the statistics on cancer in this country, which were attributed to the Irish Cancer Society.

In the article it stated that “lung and stomach cancer remain the most common risks for men, with women most a risk for Breast and cervical cancer”. Information form the National Cancer Registry, which is the most up to date and accurate source of data on cancer in this country, shows that prostate cancer is by far the most common cancer in men, followed by colorectal cancer, with lung cancer a close third.

Stomach cancer accounts for only 3% of all cancers in men and, indeed, the incidence is declining.