Doubts over cancer survival increase

Radiotherapy is one treatment option for prostate cancer

A rise in the percentage of people surviving prostate cancer could be a statistical quirk, say experts.

The latest figures examining how many patients are alive five years after diagnosis suggested 5% more of those diagnosed in 1992-1994 reached this mark compared to those diagnosed in 1991-1993.

However, this could simply be a reflection on the increasing number of men diagnosed earlier with the condition.

If someone is diagnosed earlier, they will appear statistically to live longer even if treatment is no more successful.

Experts say that the introduction of a chemical test which can detect prostate cancers may therefore be responsible for the increase.

Professor Jonathan Waxman, of the Prostate Cancer Charity, said that UK survival rates were still among the lowest in Europe.

"That is a far more reliable indicator of how well we are doing against this disease.

Reliable tests

"Treatments have not really developed over the past decade, so there is no real reason why survival should have increased."

He is calling for more money to be spent on research into more reliable tests.

The prostate gland is found near the bladder in men, being responsible for producing a component of semen.

Prostate cancer is predominantly a disease of older men, although an increasing number of cases are being diagnosed in younger men.

More than 9,527 men died from it in 1996 making it among the biggest cancer killers in the UK.

Although many cases are aggressive, in some others the cancer is slow growing, and may never cause clinical illness.

In these cases, doctors often recommend "watchful waiting" rather than treating with surgery or radiotherapy.

An operation to remove the prostate can have serious side-effects, such as loss of control of urinary function, so doctors are unwilling to operate unless the cancer appears life-threatening.

The statistics released on Wednesday covered a total of eight cancers, although prostate cancer was the only one in which a significant change had been noticed.

Professor Jack Cuzick, from the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, said: "The new figures suggest a significant improvement in prostate cancer survival, however, we should be cautious when interpreting these figures as survival rates are often not the best indicator of improvements in cancer treatment.

"They may be affected by other factors, such as improved methods of detection and earlier diagnosis. Mortality statistics are better and give a far more reliable indicator of how well we are dealing with a disease."