Cancer at record high in UK

[John Jacobus <crispy_bird@YAHOO.COM>]

For those who follow cancer trends.  This may be the

consequences of living longer.  



Cancer at record high in UK

1/7/04

By: Reuters Health



LONDON (Reuters Health), Jan 7 - The incidence of

cancer has hit a new high in Britain, with

particularly big increases in skin, uterine and

prostate cancers, according to figures released on

Wednesday.

P>Cancer Research UK said more than 270,000 cancer

cases were diagnosed in the UK in 2000 -- 3,000 more

than the previous year and 14,800 more than five years

previously.



"Cancer mainly affects older people and as our

population ages, we are inevitably seeing more cases,"

said Professor David Forman, chairman of the UK

Association of Cancer Registries, which compiled the

figures.



Only Scotland, which has higher rates of cancer than

the rest of the UK, bucked the trend with a fall in

cases, thanks to success in curbing high smoking

rates, the charity added in a statement.



However, across the UK, cases of malignant melanoma

leapt to 7,000 -- up 16% in a year and 24% over five

years - providing a stark warning of the dangers of

overexposure to the sun.



Cancer of the uterus increased to 5,600 cases, up 8%

in a year and 22% over five years, possibly linked to

rising rates of obesity and use of hormone treatments

like tamoxifen by women with breast cancer.



Cases of breast cancer increased by 12% over the five

years to 40,700, although between 1999 and 2000 there

was actually a fall of 600 cases.



Prostate cancer increased by 25% over five years to

27,200, reflecting increased use of the PSA blood

test, which often picks up early cancers.



The charity said the big increases in malignant

melanoma, uterine cancer and prostate cancer were

partly offset by falls in the numbers of stomach and

cervical cancers.



Stomach cancer has been decreasing for the past 30

years, as improved hygiene has reduced infection with

Helicobacter pylori.



Screening has cut the incidence of cervical cancer, by

picking up and treating precancerous conditions. There

were 2,991 cases of the disease in 2000, a fall of 13%

in five years.



By Richard Woodman



Last Updated: 2004-01-07 10:08:24 -0400 (Reuters

Health)







=====

+++++++++++++++++++

"There's no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you."

Will Rogers



-- John

John Jacobus, MS

Certified Health Physicist

e-mail:  crispy_bird@yahoo.com



__________________________________

Do you Yahoo!?

Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes

http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus

************************************************************************

You are currently subscribed to the Radsafe mailing list. To

unsubscribe, send an e-mail to Majordomo@list.vanderbilt.edu  Put the

text "unsubscribe radsafe" (no quote marks) in the body of the e-mail,

with no subject line. You can view the Radsafe archives at

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/radsafe/