There is a dramatic increase in survival rates for some cancer types a recent study shows. Macmillan Cancer Support hails improvements but warns of ‘woeful’ lack of progress in treating other forms of cancer
Survival rates for some types of cancer, including breast and colon cancer, have improved dramatically over the last 40 years but there has been a “woeful” lack of investment in others, a study has found.
Lung, brain and pancreatic cancers have so far shown hardly any improvement, Macmillan Cancer Support said, adding that patchy progress in some areas meant there was still a “survival lottery”.
The analysis of figures for 20 different cancers, based on London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine research, suggests overall median survival times in England and Wales – the time it takes until half those diagnosed have died – have improved from one year for those diagnosed in 1971-72 to 5.8 years for patients diagnosed in 2007.
Macmillan believes the figures may help give patients a better idea of how long they might live rather than using the traditional way of measuring survival beyond milestones – one, five and 10 years.
Six cancers, including colon and breast cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, have median survival times of more than 10 years. Colon cancer survival has improved more than 17-fold, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma 10-fold and rectal cancer seven-fold. It has doubled for breast cancer.
Survival has stretched to over five years for another five cancer types – but for nine others it remains below three.
The survival times for lung and brain cancer have barely risen – from 11 to 20 weeks and 13 to 28 weeks respectively. Pancreatic cancer survival has increased by just three weeks, from nine to 12.
Despite large improvements for leukaemia (ninefold) and myeloma (sixfold), survival times still remain low, with patients diagnosed in 2007 likely to have three and two and a half years respectively. Stomach and oesophagal cancer also have low survival rates.
Ciaran Devane, Macmillan’s chief executive, said: “This research is a huge breakthrough in seeing the real picture of how long people are living after a cancer diagnosis.
“But the good news is tempered by the shocking variation between cancer types … it is clear that much, much more money needs to be put into research, surgery and treatment for the cancers with the poorest prognosis.
“While it is wonderful news that more cancer patients are living longer overall, we also know they are not necessarily living well. Cancer treatment is the toughest fight many will ever face, and patients are often left with long-term health and emotional problems long after their treatment has ended.
“For instance, of those colorectal cancer patients still alive between five and seven years after their diagnosis, two thirds (64%) will have an ongoing health problem.”
He warned that many patients felt “abandoned by the NHS” after their treatment had ended and said the health service “really needs to recognise cancer’s long-term impact on people’s lives, to plan better services and to develop more personalised care”.
Macmillan Cancer Support said research into breast cancer accounted for 20% of site-specific research funding in 2010, more than the combined spending on some cancers with the lowest survival times. Cancers of the stomach, oesophagus, pancreas, brain and lung made up just 13%.
Peter Johnson, of Cancer Research UK, said earlier diagnosis, specialisation of surgery and chemotherapy and other treatments were bringing big improvements, although incidence of cancer would increase as the population got older.
Scientists were at “an amazing watershed” in understanding cancers, but lifestyle changes such as stopping smoking, avoiding excessive exposure to the sun, taking more exercise and drinking less alcohol were all helpful in reducing the risks of developing cancer, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Article taken from www.guardian.co.uk
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