A major study has found that the risk of dying from cancer varies massively depending on where in England a person lives. People living in the poorest areas are more than 70 per cent more likely to die from all forms of the disease than those living in the wealthiest parts.
Map reveals where in England women are most at risk of dying from cancer
Lifestyle factors like smoking, alcohol, and obesity are driving the huge disparity. Cities in the North, including Liverpool, Manchester, and seaside towns like Hartlepool, suffer from some of the highest death tolls, while rich parts of London had the lowest.
Scientists from Imperial College London said lifestyle factors were likely driving the huge disparity, namely smoking, alcohol, and obesity. Poor screening uptake, delays to diagnosis, and access to treatment were also behind the disparities, they added.
Researchers analyzed death records for the ten most deadly cancers among men and women in 314 regions across England between 2002 and 2019. They found the likelihood of dying from cancer has fallen drastically over the last 20 years, thanks to better testing and more awareness of signs and symptoms.
The proportion dying from cancer before the age of 80 between 2002 and 2019 fell from one in six women to one in eight and from one in five men to one in six. However, some areas of the country enjoyed a much larger decline in cancer deaths than others.
For example, cancer is still killing one in six women in Manchester, compared to one in ten in Westminster. The research, published in Lancet Oncology, also showed that for men in Harrow, the risk was one in eight men compared with one in five in Manchester.
Study author Prof Majid Ezzati said, "Although our study brings the good news that the overall risk of dying from cancer has decreased across all English districts in the last 20 years, it also highlights the astounding inequality in cancer deaths in different districts around."
Theo Rashid, the first author of the study and a PhD student at Imperial, said, "The greatest inequality across districts was for the risk of dying from cancers where factors such as smoking, alcohol, and obesity have a large influence on the risk of getting cancer. Due to funding cuts, many local authorities have reduced their budgets for smoking cessation since 2010. Our data shows we cannot afford to lose these public health programs and are in urgent need of the reintroduction and strengthening of national and local policies which combat smoking and alcohol."
Amanda Cross, one of the study’s authors and a professor of cancer epidemiology at Imperial, said, "Access to cancer screening and diagnostic services which can prevent cancer or catch it early are key in reducing some of the inequalities our study highlights. Those who are more deprived are less likely to be able to access and engage with cancer screening. To change this, there needs to be investment into new ways to reach underserved groups, such as screening ‘pop-ups’ in local areas like supermarkets and working with community organizations and faith groups."
