The Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) has released its latest data on cancer incidence and survival in the region for the period 2012-2016.
In addition to 3718 cases per year of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), 4607 men and 4632 women were diagnosed with cancer annually during 2012-2016. More than 60% of cases occurred in people older than 65 years. Incidence rates were highest for those aged 85-89 years. Excluding NMSC, the odds of developing cancer by the age of 75 years were 1 in 3.5 for men and 1 in 3.7 for women.
The most common cancers diagnosed among males were prostate (24% of all cancer in males), colorectal (14%) and lung (14%), while the most common cancers among women were breast (30% of all cancer in females), lung (13%) and colorectal (11%). After adjusting for age, the incidence of cancer in men decreased by an average of 1.5% per year between 2011 and 2016. However, female incidence rates have shown a continuous annual increase of 1% since 2001.
In 2016, for the first time, there were more cases of lung cancer diagnosed in women (698) than men (653). After adjusting for age, lung cancer incidence rates showed a decline in men but continue to significantly increase in women at almost 6% per year since 2010.
On the positive side, cancer survival rates improved for patients were diagnosed between 2006 and 2010 compared to those diagnosed between 1993 and 1999. Net 5-year survival rates for female breast cancer, colorectal and prostate cancer were 81.7%, 57.6% and 88.7%, respectively. The 5-year survival rate for lung cancer remained poor, at just 10.4%.
