Lung cancer among women in State 66% above EU average

The incidence of lung cancer among women in the State is 66 per cent above the EU average, while that of skin cancer is up to 53 per cent higher, according to the National Cancer Registry.

In its second five-year report, published in Dublin yesterday, the registry says one in four people - the majority men - die of cancer in the Republic.

The report, Cancer In Ireland, 1994-1998: Incidence, Mortality,Treatment and Survival, also finds that among women under 65, some 44 per cent of deaths are due to cancer.

The incidence of melanoma was found to be 53 per cent above the EU average for women and 19 per cent above for men.

Lung, stomach and bladder cancer in men were all well below the EU average, "consistent with the reduction in smoking by men here since the 1980s", the report finds.

However, while the incidence of lung cancer is falling among men - by 1.9 per cent - among women it is 66 per cent above the EU average and is continuing to rise - by 2.7 per cent - in all age groups. The biggest increase is in the under-65 age group, where a 6.8 per cent increase was recorded over the 5 years.

The condition is essentially fatal, the report confirms, with just 8 per cent of men and 10 per cent of women still alive five years after diagnosis.

Speaking at the publication, the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, said these statistics reaffirmed the need for "comprehensive, strengthened legislative measures to tackle tobacco use in this country".

During the five years covered by the report, some 20,000 new cases of cancer were diagnosed, with 7,500 cancer deaths occurring each year.

The most common forms of cancer were skin, large bowel, breast in women and prostate in men. There was no significant improvement or disimprovement in the risk of developing or dying from cancer between 1994 and 1998, the report found.

The Minister said the lack of improvement in survival rates was not a cause for concern, given that investments by his Department in cancer services had not yet had time to make a discernible impact.

"We would like to see, in five years' time, what impact the 62 additional consultant posts, etc., will have on the survival and mortality rates."

Since 1997, he said, more than €103 million had been invested in the development of services, including an allocation of €23.5 million between the health boards this year for the development of oncology/haematology services, oncology drug treatments and the development of breast disease services.

The eastern region was found to have the highest overall incidence of cancer in the State and the lowest rates were found in the west - a fact which the Minister said may require further study.

"In urban areas generally, trends tend to be higher," he said.

The survival rates from cancer overall are 43 per cent. Melanoma has the best survival rate of the common cancers, with 85 per cent of women and 68 per cent of men still alive five years after diagnosis, and lung cancer the worst.

Although there has been a "statistically significant upward trend in breast cancer incidence in women under 65", (1.4 per cent), the report finds a downward trend in mortality rates in all age groups.

There was cause for concern about people's access to some types of radiotherapy treatment, the Minister said. In particular, the report notes, was a low rate of radiotherapy treatment for cancer patients in the Western and Mid-Western Health Boards.

This issue was being looked at by the expert working group on radio therapy services, which is due to report "in the next two months", the Minister said.

The National Cancer Registry was established by the Government in 1991. Based in Cork, it records all malignant cancers and some other early tumours considered potentially malignant.