People in the UK who are diagnosed with the two most lethal forms of cancer die sooner than those in many other comparable countries, a new study has found.
Research by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) showed the UK ranked a lowly 31st out of 43 countries for how many people survive at least five years after being diagnosed with lung cancer.
The UK was below the EU and OECD average, as well as the survival rates in the US, Germany and France.
It ranked 26th for five-year survival from colon cancer, below South Korea, Belgium and New Zealand.
Lung cancer is the UK’s biggest cancer killer, claiming 34,800 lives a year – 95 a day. Colon cancer, the second most common form of cancer death, kills 16,800 people.
The UK fares better for five-year survival from breast cancer. It is above the OECD and EU averages on that metric, but is still only the 23rd best performer of the 45 countries examined. The disease ends 11,500 lives a year in Britain – 32 a day – and is the second most lethal form of cancer for women.
“The data do not lie. This timely report shows that we continue to lag behind the majority of OECD countries for many of the major cancers and highlights why cancer has become the biggest killer in the UK,” said Mark Lawler, the chair of the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership and a professor of digital health at Queen’s University Belfast.
The country does better when judged on cancer screening. It has the seventh highest rate of screening for cervical cancer out of 30 nations and the 11th highest rate out of 33 for breast cancer.
Dr Ian Walker, Cancer Research UK’s executive director of policy, said: “The UK should be a world leader in cancer outcomes, but evidence shows that cancer survival here lags behind comparable countries. Cancer patients, no matter where they live, deserve to have the highest quality care, and these figures are unacceptable.
“The UK government has the opportunity to turn things around, but it will need to deliver on the positive commitments it has made on cancer. Developing a fully funded, national cancer plan, alongside implementing crucial prevention legislation like the tobacco and vapes bill, will be vital to transforming the lives of people affected by cancer.”
Prof Pat Price, a leading oncologist and founder of the Catch Up With Cancer campaign, said: “This report lays bare the devastating toll cancer takes on lives and our economy. The ongoing cancer crisis must be one of our top political priorities.
“This isn’t just an NHS issue. It’s a national issue in the fullest sense of the term. It’s about saving lives. It’s about safeguarding our health system. It’s about rebuilding productivity.”
The OECD also found that:
UK spending on cancer will rise from £14.4bn to more than £23bn by 2050 because the ageing population will lead to more people being diagnosed.
Cancer will cause one in four deaths of people under the age of 75 between now and 2050.
170,000 people at any one time cannot work because they have cancer.
Lawler, Walker and Price urged Wes Streeting, the health secretary, to draw up a dedicated 10-year plan to prevent more cancers and improve care for those diagnosed.
Streeting recently indicated that he did plan to do that, but it is unclear if the strategy would come out before or after his promised 10-year health plan, which is due next spring.
