DT News - UK - New figures show general decline in cancer deaths but increase in oesophageal cancer

Search Dental Tribune

New figures show general decline in cancer deaths but increase in oesophageal cancer

While mortality rates for other types of cancer have declined, the rates for oral cancer are still increasing worldwide. (Photo: Mark Poprocki/Shutterstock)

Thu. 9 January 2014

save

LONDON, UK/ATLANTA, USA: Although the death rate from cancer in general has declined steadily over the past two decades, the latest statistics published by researchers in the UK and the US indicate that the number of cases and deaths due to oral and oesophageal cancer have risen significantly.

According to the latest figures published by the American Cancer Society, the overall risk of dying from cancer decreased by 20 per cent between 1991 and 2010. For 2014, the Society estimates a total of 1,665,540 new cancer cases and 585,720 deaths from cancer in the US.

With regard to cancer of the oral cavity, 42,440 new cases are expected, with 30,220 occurring in men and 12,220 in women, indicating a significant increase compared with recent years. The Society stated that in 2005 approximately 29,500 patients died from cancer of the tongue, mouth, pharynx or other unspecified parts of the oral cavity.

Statistics published on Monday by Cancer Research UK, a UK charity organisation primarily concerned with raising money to fund cancer research, show that the number of people dying from oesophageal cancer has increased by almost 50 per cent in the last 40 years. Currently, about 7,600 people in the UK die each year from oesophageal cancer, compared with about 3,800 in 1971. For men in particular, mortality rates have risen by 65 per cent since the 1970s. According to the organisation, oesophageal cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the UK today.

The report on estimated cancer cases and deaths in the U.S. in 2014, titled “Cancer statistics, 2014”, was published online on 7 January in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians ahead of print. More information on death rates from oesophageal cancer in the UK can be found on Cancer Research UK’s website.

To post a reply please login or register
advertisement
advertisement