1. Main findings
- For 8 of the most common cancers, there was an upward trend in 1-year and 5-year survival for adults diagnosed in England between 2004 and 2008
- Among the 25 Area Teams in England, the largest annual change from 2004 to 2008 in 1-year survival was for oesophageal cancer (increasing 5.5% per year) for both men in ‘Durham, Darlington and Tees’ and for women in ‘North Yorkshire and Humber’
- Wide geographic differences in survival were observed. The range in 1-year survival between the 25 Area Teams was greater than 10% for cancers of the oesophagus and stomach in men, and for cancers of the oesophagus, stomach, colon and bladder in women
2. Summary
Estimates for 1-year and 5-year net survival are presented for adults diagnosed with a cancer of the oesophagus, stomach, colon, lung, breast (women), cervix, prostate or bladder (Background notes 1 and 2) in England between 2004 and 2008. These cancers represent a large proportion of all cancer diagnoses for adults, and they reflect a variety of diagnostic and treatment pathways and trends in survival.
Results are presented for England as a whole, and for three geographic levels of organisation of the NHS in England – 4 NHS Regions, 12 Clinical Senates and 25 Area Teams (Background note 5).
Age-standardised survival estimates are presented for adults diagnosed between 2006 and 2008 and followed up to 2013. Estimates are age-standardised to adjust for changes in the age profile of cancer patients over time (Background note 3). To show trends over time, unstandardised survival estimates for each year of the period 2004 to 2008 are also presented, together with the annual change (Background note 4).
Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys3. Collaboration
The cancer registration data in this publication have been collected by the National Cancer Registration Service in Public Health England. This publication is produced in partnership with the Cancer Research UK Cancer Survival Group at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Download this image London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
.gif (12.4 kB)4. Results
At a national level, 1-year survival was above 70% and 5-year survival above 45% for cancers of the colon, breast (women), cervix, prostate and bladder (Figures 1 and 2). It should be noted that changes in the coding and classification of bladder cancer in England from 2000 onwards has contributed to a reduction in the overall estimate of survival from bladder cancer (Background note 6). For cancers of the oesophagus, stomach and lung, survival remained very low, with 1-year survival less than 45% and 5-year survival less than 20%. Figures 1 and 2 show that 1-year survival is generally higher in men, except for lung cancer, while 5-year survival is higher in women, except for bladder cancer.
Figure 1: 1-year age-standardised net survival (per cent) for adults diagnosed between 2006 and 2008 and followed up to 2013: England, 8 common cancers, by sex
Source: Office for National Statistics, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Notes:
- Survival estimates are age-standardised (Background note 3).
- Adults aged 15 to 99 years.
Download this chart Figure 1: 1-year age-standardised net survival (per cent) for adults diagnosed between 2006 and 2008 and followed up to 2013: England, 8 common cancers, by sex
Image .csv .xls
Figure 2: 5-year age-standardised net survival (per cent) for adults diagnosed between 2006 and 2008 and followed up to 2013: England, 8 common cancers, by sex
Source: Office for National Statistics, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Notes:
- Survival estimates are age-standardised (Background note 3).
- Adults aged 15 to 99 years.
Download this chart Figure 2: 5-year age-standardised net survival (per cent) for adults diagnosed between 2006 and 2008 and followed up to 2013: England, 8 common cancers, by sex
Image .csv .xlsThe annual change in net survival presented in the reference tables describes the trend in cancer survival over a 5-year period as an absolute difference from one year to the next (Background note 4). For all the cancers presented, the annual change in 1- and 5-year survival at national level showed improvement between 2004 and 2008. The largest annual improvements in 1-year survival at national level were for cancer of the oesophagus (1.7% per year for men, 1.0% per year for women), stomach (1.5% per year for both men and women) and cervix (1.2% per year for women). The largest annual improvement for 5-year survival was for colon cancer (1.3% per year for men and 1.5% per year for women). For all other cancers, the annual increase for 1-year and 5-year survival was less than 1% per year. At Area Team level, the largest annual improvements were for 1-year survival for oesophageal cancer (increasing 5.5% per year) for men in ‘Durham, Darlington and Tees’ and women in ‘North Yorkshire and Humber’.
Wide and persistent differences in survival between the 25 Area Teams in England were seen for all cancers diagnosed between 2006 and 2008 (Tables 1 and 2). For women with a cancer of the oesophagus, stomach, colon or bladder, the absolute difference between the highest and lowest estimates in Area Teams was more than 10% for 1-year survival, and wide differences persisted at 5 years. Also, 5-year survival from cervical cancer differed widely between Area Teams (absolute difference around 17% between the highest and lowest estimates). For men, the largest absolute differences between the highest and lowest estimates were more than 12% for 1-year survival (oesophagus and stomach cancers) and more than 15% for 5-year net survival (prostate cancer). It should be noted that some sub-national variation in bladder cancer can be attributed to the progressive completion of changes in coding and classification by the regional cancer registries in England during this period (Background note 6).
Table 1: Range in 1-year net survival (per cent) between the 25 Area Teams in England: adults diagnosed between 2006 and 2008 and followed up to 2013, 8 common cancers, by sex
Age-standardised net survival (%) | ||||||||||
ICD-10 code2 | Site description | Men | Women | Persons | ||||||
Min | Max | Range | Min | Max | Range | Min | Max | Range | ||
C15 | Oesophagus | 34.2 | 46.5 | 12.3 | 30.2 | 44.0 | 13.7 | 33.2 | 43.1 | 9.9 |
C16 | Stomach | 35.2 | 47.5 | 12.3 | 35.5 | 49.4 | 13.9 | 35.9 | 47.6 | 11.7 |
C18 | Colon | 67.7 | 74.8 | 7.1 | 62.6 | 74.0 | 11.4 | 66.7 | 73.6 | 7.0 |
C33-34 | Lung | 23.7 | 33.2 | 9.5 | 26.3 | 34.7 | 8.4 | 25.5 | 32.0 | 6.5 |
C50 | Breast | : | : | : | 93.7 | 96.5 | 2.7 | : | : | : |
C53 | Cervix | z | z | z | 76.7 | 85.7 | 8.9 | z | z | z |
C61 | Prostate | 88.1 | 95.7 | 7.6 | z | z | z | z | z | z |
C67 | Bladder | 71.2 | 80.3 | 9.1 | 55.6 | 73.3 | 17.7 | 69.6 | 77.5 | 7.9 |
Source: Office for National Statistics and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine | ||||||||||
Notes: | ||||||||||
1. Adults aged 15 to 99 years. | ||||||||||
2. International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition. | ||||||||||
3. The symbol (:) means "not available". Breast cancer in males is rare, and survival estimates are not available. | ||||||||||
4. The symbol (z) means "not applicable". | ||||||||||
5. Area Teams for which it was not possible to calculate an age-standardised estimate have been excluded. |
Download this table Table 1: Range in 1-year net survival (per cent) between the 25 Area Teams in England: adults diagnosed between 2006 and 2008 and followed up to 2013, 8 common cancers, by sex
.xls (29.2 kB)
Table 2: Range in 5-year net survival (per cent) between the 25 Area Teams in England: adults diagnosed between 2006 and 2008 and followed up to 2013, 8 common cancers, by sex
Age-standardised net survival (%) | ||||||||||
ICD-10 code2 | Site description | Men | Women | Persons | ||||||
Min | Max | Range | Min | Max | Range | Min | Max | Range | ||
C15 | Oesophagus | 7.8 | 16.1 | 8.3 | 7.3 | 17.8 | 10.5 | 8.9 | 16.1 | 7.2 |
C16 | Stomach | 12.7 | 20.8 | 8.1 | 13.5 | 23.2 | 9.8 | 13.5 | 22.1 | 8.6 |
C18 | Colon | 49.0 | 58.5 | 9.5 | 44.5 | 60.7 | 16.2 | 48.7 | 57.9 | 9.2 |
C33-34 | Lung | 5.8 | 9.6 | 3.9 | 7.2 | 12.1 | 4.8 | 6.8 | 10.5 | 3.7 |
C50 | Breast | : | : | : | 81.4 | 85.5 | 4.1 | : | : | : |
C53 | Cervix | z | z | z | 54.5 | 71.4 | 16.9 | z | z | z |
C61 | Prostate | 70.9 | 86.3 | 15.4 | z | z | z | z | z | z |
C67 | Bladder | 51.5 | 61.8 | 10.3 | 36.9 | 54.5 | 17.6 | 48.0 | 59.0 | 11.1 |
Source: Office for National Statistics and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine | ||||||||||
Notes: | ||||||||||
1. Adults aged 15 to 99 years. | ||||||||||
2. International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition. | ||||||||||
3. The symbol (:) means "not available". Breast cancer in males is rare, and survival estimates are not available. | ||||||||||
4. The symbol (z) means "not applicable". | ||||||||||
5. Area Teams for which it was not possible to calculate an age-standardised estimate have been excluded. |
Download this table Table 2: Range in 5-year net survival (per cent) between the 25 Area Teams in England: adults diagnosed between 2006 and 2008 and followed up to 2013, 8 common cancers, by sex
.xls (28.7 kB)5. Users and uses
Main users of cancer survival estimates include the Department of Health, academics and researchers, cancer charities, cancer registries, other government organisations and our researchers, the media, and the general public. The Department of Health uses cancer survival figures to brief government ministers, and as part of the evidence base to inform cancer policy and programmes, for example in drives to improve survival.
Cancer survival estimates that we publish are also included as indicators in the NHS Outcomes Framework 2013 to 2014 and the Clinical Commissioning Group indicator set, which are used to hold the NHS and commissioners to account. Academics and researchers use the figures to inform their research. Similarly Public Health England and other government organisations use the figures to carry out individual and collaborative projects. Charities use the data to provide reliable and accessible information about cancer to a wide range of groups, including patients and health professionals via health awareness campaigns and cancer information leaflets and web pages. Our researchers use the data to support further research and to publish alongside other National Statistics.
Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys6. Policy context
In Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer (January 2011), the Department of Health stated that although improvements have been made in the quality of cancer services in England, a significant gap remains in survival compared with the European average. Survival estimates for cervical, colorectal and breast cancer are some of the lowest among member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The strategy document sets out how the Department of Health aims to improve outcomes for all cancer patients and improve cancer survival, with the aim of saving an additional 5,000 lives every year by the financial year ending 2015.
Outcomes strategies set out how the NHS, public health and social care services will contribute to the ambitions for progress agreed with the Secretary of State in each of the high-level outcomes frameworks. The indicator set for the NHS Outcomes Framework 2013 to 2014 focuses on measuring health outcomes includes 1- and 5-year cancer survival indicators for all cancers combined, and for colorectal, breast and lung cancers combined.
Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys