This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Cancer on the retreat
15/09/2006
Cancer is on the retreat in Scotland with the lifetime risk of developing the disease beginning to fall and more people surviving it, according to the latest statistics released today.
The lifetime risk of getting cancer has fallen slightly for both men and women, while cancer mortality rates are down by 16 per cent over the last 10 years.
This includes significant reductions for cancers which cause the highest numbers of deaths. The figures come as it was revealed that cancer waiting times for January to March 2006 have also improved.
Health Minister Andy Kerr said;
"Tackling cancer has been one of our top priorities and it's a great credit to the work we are doing across the service that people are now less likely to contract the disease, and if they do, less likely to die from it.
"In Scotland we are often guilty of failing to highlight the good work we do. I firmly believe we are beginning to establish one of the best cancer services in the world, and these figures are testament to the hard working staff who are making that possible.
"But our efforts must not stop here - we will go on tackling this disease."
And commenting on the rise in the numbers of cancer patients being treated within two months of urgent referral, from 74 to 79 per cent, Mr Kerr said:
"This is a step in the right direction with improvements against almost every tumour type, and I welcome that. But we still have more to do.
"Whilst significant investment is now beginning to show some results, we must do more to translate this into real benefits for patients.
"That's why Boards must not let up, but instead build on this improvement and use the targeted measures we have put in place to drive on towards meeting the 95 per cent target."
Performance against the target for the January to March 2006 quarter is listed below - (previous quarter in brackets):
Breast cancer - 89 per cent (84 per cent)
Lung cancer - 86 per cent (80 per cent)
Ovarian cancer - 89 per cent (92 per cent)
Colorectal cancer - 71 per cent (63 per cent)
Melanoma - 97 per cent (84 per cent)
Lymphoma - 68 per cent (66 per cent)
Urology - 60 per cent (61 per cent)
Upper GI - 76 per cent (72 per cent)
Head & Neck - 68 per cent (63 per cent)
All Scotland - 78.5 per cent (74 per cent)
Statistics published today by Information Services Division (ISD) relating to the period 1999-2003 show that the lifetime risk of developing cancer has decreased since the last publication (based on 1997-2001): for men from 36.8 per cent to 35.2 per cent, and for women from 36.3 per cent to 33.9 per cent.
The ISD statistics also show a decrease in cancer mortality rates (standardised to European Standard Population) for people aged under 75 of 15.8 per cent between 1995 and 2005. For men, lung, colorectal and prostate cancers have fallen by 25 per cent, 14 per cent and 9 per cent respectively. For women, breast and colorectal cancer mortality have fallen by 14 per cent and 24 per cent. Mortality rates for lung cancer amongst women have not altered significantly in the last 10 years.
If this trend continues, the target to reduce mortality rates from cancer in under 75s by 20 per cent between 1995 and 2010 will be met.
The target for cancer waiting times was that by 2005 100 per cent of urgent cancer referrals would be treated within 62 days. In May, this was amended to 95% following expert advice on clinical appropriateness.
Since 2001 more than £250 million has been invested in cancer services. Work continues to be taken forward on a number of fronts to drive down waiting times:
- Increased capacity. There are now 300 additional staff including doctors, nurses and other health professionals delivering cancer treatment and care across Scotland
- Replaced old scanning and treatment equipment and put in extra new state of the art imaging, radiotherapy and other equipment in hospitals, with innovative use to treat patients in rural communities
- By the end of 2007 patients will wait no more than nine weeks for any MRI or CT scans and other key diagnostic tests. This will also assist in driving down waiting times for cancer treatment. One of the most significant actions that is making a huge difference in many areas is putting in place "trackers" - staff who are responsible for tracking all urgent referrals through the system from referral, through the range of diagnostic services such as laboratory tests and imaging (for example x-rays, CT/MRI scans, endoscopy, ultrasound) up to treatment