Macmillan Cancer Support responds to the latest cancer survival figures

Mike Hobday, Director of Policy and Research at Macmillan Cancer Support, says:

“Whilst it's encouraging to see that overall survival rates for some of the most common cancers in England are improving, we know that we still have a long way to go here in the UK if we are to catch up with the best in Europe.

“These new figures by Public Health England's NCIN show that there is a massive difference for patients when their cancer is diagnosed early. Lung cancer patients are more than four times more likely to survive at least a year after diagnosis if the disease is caught early[2]. Colorectal cancer patients are more than twice as likely to survive[3]. And there are big improvements in the life chances of women with breast cancer[4].

“The ability of the NHS to undertake such detailed analysis of cancer survival is growing very rapidly, providing increasingly strong evidence on how we can continue to improve cancer care across the country.

“Sadly, we know that for far too many people, this improvement isn't yet happening. Macmillan Cancer Support is urging all political parties to make cancer a top priority at the upcoming general election and commit to reducing the number of people diagnosed in A&E.”

Notes

1 NCIN's 'Cancer Survival in England by Stage' report

2 Lung cancer patients in 2012 in England were more than four times more likely to survive a year after diagnosis if diagnosed at stage one (87%) compared with stage four (19%). These rates have been age standardised and are relative to the general population.

3 Colorectal cancer patients were more than twice as likely to survive a year after diagnosis if diagnosed at stage one (98%) compared with stage four (46%).

4 Breast cancer patients were more likely survive a year after diagnosis if diagnosed at stage one (100%) compared with stage four (67%). These rates have all been age standardised, rounded to the nearest 1% and are relative to the general population