Breast cancer death rates fall by up to a third in UK

Published on Wednesday 11 August 2010 14:59

Death rates from breast cancer have fallen faster in the UK than any other major European country, experts said yesterday.

Research from 30 countries found large drops in the number of women dying, particularly in the UK and Iceland.

Typically, death rates from breast cancer fell by almost a fifth across the countries, ranging from a 45 per cent reduction in Iceland to a 17 per cent increase in Romania.

England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland had the second, third, and fourth largest decreases of 35 per cent, 30 per cent and 29 per cent respectively, coming after Iceland.

In France, Finland, and Sweden, death rates decreased by 11 per cent, 12 per cent and 16 per cent in comparison.

The study contradicts claims that survival rates in the UK are worse than in other western European countries. Experts said yesterday the latest research was much more reliable.

The study, published online in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), was led by a team at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France.

They examined World Health Organisation data on cancer death rates from 1989 to 2006 alongside information from individual countries.

The fall in death rates was greater than 30 per cent in three countries, 20 per cent to 30 per cent in 12 countries, and actually increased in four countries.

The overall fall usually began between 1988 and 1996, and trends suggest the drop should continue.

The authors said: "Changes in breast cancer mortality after 1988 varied widely, and the UK is among the (European] countries with the largest reductions."

They said claims that the UK's breast cancer survival rates were among the worst were misleading. The UK's cancer policy, including screening, had been a success and "the rather bleak picture of UK cancer policy portrayed using breast cancer survival is likely to be erroneous".

In an accompanying editorial, professors Valerie Beral and Richard Peto from the University of Oxford blamed problems with the way cancers were recorded for the apparently poor UK survival rates

They added: "In the UK, breast cancers are diagnosed earlier and treated more effectively than they were in the 1980s, and mortality in middle age has been falling steeply, more so than in any other major European country."

Shadow health secretary Andy Burham said: "These figures are a tribute to the fantastic work of NHS clinicians and a sign that the last Labour government was right to invest to give them the support they need."

Maggie Alexander, director of policy at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: "This is very positive news and a trend that we hope to see continue.

"Due to better screening and more effective treatments, the UK now has some of the lowest mortality rates in Europe.

"However, breast cancer is still the most common cancer in the UK. It is vital that we continue to invest in research and services."

Hilary Tovey of Cancer Research UK added: "The UK has seen greater decreases in the number of women dying from breast cancer, though this is partly because death rates were relatively high in the 1980s."