A NEW detailed analysis of the incidence of cancer in Ireland has found geographical and socio-economic variations in cancer risk which suggest that there is considerable potential for reducing the incidence of the disease in the country.
According to the authors of An Atlas of Cancer in Ireland 1994-2203, geographical and socio-economic variations in cancer risk are likely to reflect social, economic, cultural and environmental differences between population subgroups.
The report, by Anne-Elie Carsin, Linda Sharp and Dr Harry Comber, is published today by the National Cancer Registry (NCR) and involves an analysis, on an electoral division basis, of cancers diagnosed in the population of Ireland between 1994 and 2003 and registered with the NCR.
The authors point out that while the risk factors for cancer are neither well defined nor modifiable (eg family history, genetic background), it is likely that many of the differences observed reflect a combination of variations in well-known risk factors.
Risk factors such as tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, obesity, diet, sexual behaviour, etc and variations in participation in screening, health awareness and access to cancer services may explain some of the differences, they suggest.
“Since these factors are potentially modifiable, there is considerable potential for reducing cancer incidence in Ireland and eliminating the disparities described in this report,” the authors conclude.
The authors found that for all malignant cancers, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer, there were higher incidences around Dublin and Cork and in a band running across the northeast and north midlands from Dublin to Sligo.
Analysing particular types of cancer, the authors found relatively modest geographical variations in breast cancer with the highest incidence around the major urban centres except for Limerick and increased incidence in west Cork, north Kerry and east Midlands.
Prostate cancer was highest around the cities apart from Limerick, while colorectal cancer was higher than average in an area centred on Cork city and extending into the far southwest and in the north and centre of the country in a broad band from Dublin up to Donegal.
The research also found that rates of lung cancer were highest in Leinster – particularly in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow – with a smaller area of high incidence in Cork city, whereas in Dublin, the highest incidence coincided with the most deprived areas.
Few areas were found to have a particularly high incidence of oesophageal cancer but cervical cancer was found to be highest around Dublin and Wicklow, Kildare and Wexford while it was found to be lowest in Cork, Kerry and Donegal.
All the cancer sites analysed showed some association with deprivation while the study also found that, with the exception of prostate cancer, more densely populated areas had a higher risk of cancer than sparsely populated areas.