Deaths in England and Wales fell by 45 per cent between the late 1980s and 2013, compared with a world average of 28 per cent. But Britain is still lagging behind the rest of Europe on breast cancer survival.
In the 1980s our death rates were among the world’s worst — around 65 per 100,000 women.
They are now down to 35 per 100,000 as a result of better screening and treatments.
The study, revealed by French scientists at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in Texas, shows the biggest fall has been among women aged under 50.
Younger women can cope better with gruelling chemotherapy, the experts say. Death rates in Spain fell by 37 per cent and in France by 21 per cent.
Lead researcher Dr Cecile Piszot said: “Differences in health care systems could explain the discrepancies.”
Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive at charity Breast Cancer Now, said: “That deaths are gradually being reduced is really encouraging.
“But we still lag behind the European average for survival.”
Cancer Research UK’s Dr Rebecca Smittenaar said: “Breast cancer is still the third-greatest cause of UK cancer death.”
Around 55,000 women a year in Britain are diagnosed with the disease and 11,400 die.
0 comments: