US hails cancer success

Cancer treatment is under attack in the UK

The number of people dying of cancer in the US is falling at a record speed.

Latest figures show that the US is making real progress in the fight against the disease - and that the UK trails in its wake.

The number of new cancer cases dropped by an average of 0.8% a year between 1990 and 1997, according to a report from US cancer research agencies.

This compares to an average annual increase of 1.2% between 1973 and 1990.

The rate of death also decreased 0.8% over the same period.

Health officials attribute the decrease to the reduction of tobacco consumption and progress in prevention, early detection and treatment of cancer.

Lung cancer is the most deadly, causing 158,900 deaths in the United States in 1999, or 28% of all cancer deaths.

These findings underscore the remarkable progress we've made against cancer

Richard Klausner, National Cancer Institute

Richard Klausner, director the National Cancer Institute, said: "These findings underscore the remarkable progress we've made against cancer.

"The levelling-off of cancer deaths in the past few years despite the increase in the size of the American population is encouraging."

The decrease was more evident among men, who nevertheless still have a higher rate of cancer overall than women.

Cancer of the lung, prostate, breast, colon and rectum are the most fatal and represent more than half of new cases diagnosed.

UK figures

Figures for the UK show that between 1987 and 1996, as many cancers increased as declined.

The five-year survival rate for major cancers in Britain is worse than in every category than in the US.

A report by the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and the Office of National Statistics showed that of 200,000 people diagnosed with cancer in England and Wales in 1989, 60,000 lived at least five years.

However, in the US 110,000 would have survived for five years.

Cancer care in the UK has come under fierce criticism this month, following the case of Steve Harley, a businessman from Barnsley, whose oral cancer was missed by a succession of doctors despite repeated visits to GP surgeries and hospital departments.

Mr Harley's tumour is now inoperable, and he faces an intensive programme of radiotherapy, and the prospect of losing his tongue and voice box.

Dr Jo Reynolds, of the Cancer Research Campaign, said the apparent differences in survival rates between the US and UK were exaggerated by the way the figures were calculated.

However, she said: "We really need to get more patients into the system earlier so that their cancer can be diagnosed at an earlier stage and they can be given relevant treatment as quickly as possible."

Dr Reynolds said the US system of private medical insurance meant that many people were offered cancer screening as routine.

Professor Michel Coleman, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has studied cancer survival trends.

He agreed that faster diagnosis was the key to boosting survival rates in the UK, particularly among elderly patients.

"We must make sure that we do not ignore the need of the elderly to have prompt and thorough diagnosis and effective treatment."

Professor Coleman also called on patients to demand the best care - that way, he said, pressure would be brought to bear for more resources from the government.