§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has to increase awareness of prostate cancer in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement; [98547]
(2) what progress he has made in (a) reducing the incidence of prostate cancer, (b) shortening the timescale for detection and (c) shortening the timescale for quantitive analysis since May 1997; [98549]
(3) what assessment he has made of the level of prostate cancer in the United Kingdom relative to that in (a) the United States of America and (b) other European countries; and if he will make a statement. [98548]
§ Yvette Cooper[holding answers 22 November 1999]: We are determined to improve the prevention, detection and treatment of prostate cancer. The White Paper, 'Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation', which was published in July proposed a target to reduce the death rate from cancer in those under 75 by 20 per cent. by 2010 saving 100,000 lives.
We have already announced that by December 2000 all urgent general practitioner referrals of suspected prostate cancer should be seen by a consultant within two weeks of referral. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has commissioned guidance on cancer services on four further cancer sites over the next two years, and urological cancers (includes prostate) will be the first of these.
The Department provides information for the public, in leaflets and through health education campaigns. These encourage people to report to their GP or other health professional any persistent unusual symptoms which may indicate cancer or other disease. For example, the 'Europe Against Cancer' theme for 1998 was 'Cancer in Men' and a related leaflet included advice about symptoms that may indicate prostate cancer, including a change in urinary habits.
98WThere were 18,900 new cases of prostate cancer in England and Wales in 1996 (provisional figures) and 8,570 deaths registered from prostate cancer in England and Wales in 1998. The latest data show that mortality from prostate cancer fell after 1995 following a consistent rise in the 1980s and early 1990s.
The table presents international comparisons of the estimated incidence of prostate cancer around 1990 and of mortality around 1995.
Prostate cancer—EU countries and USA comparison Country Incidence 1990 estimates1 Mortality c. 19952 Austria 42.7 17.5 Belgium 40.5 18.6 Denmark 33.5 20.4 Finland 43.4 18.0 France 39.2 15.5 Germany 37.5 17.0 Greece 12.7 9.3 Ireland 31.3 19.6 Italy 16.3 11.4 Luxembourg 38.2 15.2 Netherlands 41.8 19.6 Portugal 20.6 17.0 Spain 18.3 13.9 Sweden 59.9 21.7 United Kingdom 30.1 17.1 United States of America 95.1 16.3 1World Age Standardised Rate per 100,000 2Mortality data 1995, except Belgium (1992), Denmark (1993) and Italy (1993) Note:
The estimated rate of incidence of prostate cancer in the United Kingdom is lower than the average of all European Union countries and less than a third of that in the United States of America. However, international comparisons should be treated with caution, as there is no guarantee that like is being compared to like. Varying identification, collection and collation procedures affect the comparability of the data.
Source:
Incidence—IARC [GLOBOCAN database]
Mortality—IARC [WHO DATABANK mortality database]