There has been a 12% rise in rates of cancer diagnosis in the last 20 years, according to new data released by Cancer Research UK.
The figures state that around 352,200 people were diagnosed with cancer in 2013, compared with 253,000 in 1993. The rates for diagnosis has risen from 540 per 100,000 people in 1993-1995 to 603 per 100,000 in 2011-2013. Despite this, rates of survival have doubled over the last 40 years, with the rate of death from cancer falling by 10% since 2003. The charity has said that the rise in the number of people being diagnosed with cancer is down to an aging and growing population.
People are living longer so more people are getting cancer. But the good news is more people are surviving their cancer,’ said Nick Ormiston-Smith, Cancer Research UK’s head of statistical information. ‘There’s still a huge variation in survival between different cancer types and there’s a lot of work to do to reach Cancer Research UK’s ambition for three in four patients to survive their disease by 2034.’
The figures also observed a variation between genders, with more than 179,000 men are diagnosed yearly in the UK compared with nearly 173,000 women. The charity has also stated that around 40% of cancer cases could be prevented by changes to lifestyle, such as stopping smoking.
People often think cancer is down to their genes or just bad luck,’ said Professor Peter Johnson, Cancer Research UK’s chief clinician. ‘Although genes do play a role there are still many things people can do to reduce their cancer risk. The most important is to not smoke. Most people know smoking causes lung cancer, but it’s also linked to at least 13 other types.’