§ Mr. Roger EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the numbers of cancer registrations in Wales for each of the last five years available; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesThe latest registration figures for all malignant neoplasms from the Welsh cancer registry are published by the Welsh Office in "Health and Personal Social Services for Wales, No. 19, 1992", available in the Library of the House. These data represent the most reliable published information on cancer registrations.
The following table shows the number of such registrations and the year-on-year percentage difference.
Year Registration of all malignant neoplasms Change of previous year per cent. 1984 14,480 +3.2 1985 14,899 +2.9 1986 14,635 -1.8 1987 15,345 +4.9 1988 16,217 +5.7 These statistics make no allowance for changes in the age and sex composition of the population. Cancers are more naturally prevalent among the elderly, who form an increasing proportion in the population. Aside from such demographic considerations, increases in the numbers of cancer registrations may be due to earlier diagnosis, more complete reporting of diagnosed cases to the cancer registry, or a real increase in the incidence of cancer.
Figures are also published by OPCS in its document "Cancer Statistics—Registrations". These differ from those shown in the table. For example, OPCS figures under-record Welsh registrations for 1986 and slightly over-record those for 1987. Differences in the two published sources arise because it has not been possible for OPCS to take on all revisions to the Welsh cancer registry data in time for inclusion in their annual publications. These revisions arise from routine validation and from several substantial data quality improvements made by the Welsh cancer registry staff.