Cancer survival rates in England improve since mid-90s

The one-year cancer survival rates for England have increased from 59.5 per cent for patients diagnosed in 1996 to 66.5 per cent in 2009, according to the latest statistics.

However, geographic inequalities between north and south continue, though they are less steep.

The figures released today by the Office of National Statistics show that the increase in the survival index is similar for both middle aged and elderly patients.

In the most recent year covered, 2009, the index of one-year net survival for all cancers combined remained on average 20% lower for elderly patients, as compared to middle-aged patients.

Geographic inequalities in the one-year survival index in London are only slightly narrower than those observed for the whole of England, the report said.

Survival rates over one and five years for cancers of the oesophagus, stomach, colon, lung and breast improved by 3 to 15 per cent for adults in England diagnosed in 2009, as compared to those diagnosed in 1996.

Figures for the 28 Cancer Networks of England showed a difference of over 10 per cent between the networks with the highest and lowest one-year net survival for cancers of the oesophagus, stomach, colon (women), lung (women) and cervix in 2009.

Regional disparities were relatively stable over the period 1996 to 2009, despite the large overall improvements in survival.

This article was published on Tue 13 December 2011