§ Mr. Michael McNair-Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average annual figure for cases of lymphatic cancer and leukaemia among people under 25 years of age in the parishes of Burghfield and Aldermaston in Berkshire expressed (a) in total and (b) as a rate of incidence; whether there are demographic or other factors which would account for any divergence from national average figures; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HayhoeData from the registration of newly diagnosed cases of cancers from 1961 are not readily identifiable at the parish level. However the table shows available information for the pre-1974 local authority area of Bradfield rural district which includes Burghfield and Aldermaston.
Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of cancer; area of usual residence Bradfield RD, 1961–1980, Persons aged 0–24 years, Numbers and rates per 100,000 population Diagnosis Total cases 1961–1980 Average annual registration rate per 100,000 population Leukaemia 14 4.57 Lymphatic cancer 8 2.61 Great care should be taken in trying to draw conclusions from these figures. The data are based on very few cancer registrations; the age structure of the population also has to be considered. Both these factors can lead to differences between the local and national figures. After adjustment for the age structure, the standardised registration ratios for leukaemia and lymphatic cancer for the period 1961–1980 in Bradfield RD for ages 0–24 years are 159 and 116 respectively, compared with 100 in England and Wales as a whole. These differences (ie between 159 and 100, and 116 and 100) are not as large as might be expected to arise from chance variations due to the small number of cases in Bradfield RD.
It is not possible to determine whether enhanced recognition and registration of leukaemia and lymphatic cancer in Bradfield RD, or different diagnostic terms, accounts for any of the excess.