Claire Reid
A new study has revealed the areas of England where people are most likely to die of cancer.
The new research, which was published in Lancet Oncology, highlights the 'significantly' higher risk of dying from cancer if you live in a poorer area than those who reside in more affluent parts of the UK.
Researchers involved in the study have said that the ‘astounding inequality’ in cancer death risk could be due to cuts to public health services, such as those that help people quit smoking.
The team, led by academics at Imperial College London, said the largest discrepancies were seen in cancers where someone’s risk can be reduced with lifestyle changes, such as losing weight or stopping smoking, and for cancers where screening is available to help cut the risk of dying.
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Theo Rashid, first author of the study and PhD student at Imperial College London, 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 programmes and are in urgent need of the reintroduction and strengthening of national and local policies which combat smoking and alcohol.”
Amanda Cross, study author and professor of cancer epidemiology at Imperial, added: “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.
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“Those who are more deprived are less likely to be able to access and engage with cancer screening."
The experts carried out the research by analysing data from the Office of National Statistics from 10 cancers which cause the most deaths, including lung cancers, bowel, pancreas, stomach and certain blood cancers, as well prostate, breast and ovarian cancers.
They were then able to work out which areas had the highest and lowest rates of dying of cancer before the age of 80 - and northern areas fared particularly badly.
10 - Newcastle upon Tyne
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9 - Sunderland, Corby and Salford
8 - Burnley
7 - Halton
6 - Stoke-on-Trent
5 - South Tyneside
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4 - Blackpool and Knowsley
3 - Middlesbrough
2 - Kingston upon Hull
1 - Manchester
But it isn’t all bad news as the research also showed that the odds of dying from cancer before the age of 80 declined from 2002 to 2019 in every district.