Changes in cancer survival after diagnosis in NSW

According to a recent paper published in the International Journal of Cancer survival from almost all cancers has improved during the last 30 years.

NSW Central Cancer Registry data were used to estimate 5-year relative survival and relative excess risk of death for patients diagnosed in 1980-84, 1985-88, 1989-92 and 1993-96.

There were statistically significant falls in excess deaths for 20 different cancers with a 25% fall for all cancers combined. Cancers of the prostate, liver, thyroid, breast, gallbladder, body of uterus, rectum, cervix and ovary had falls greater than 30%.

The authors comment “we conclude that falls in excess deaths in NSW from 1980 to 1996 are unlikely, for many cancers, to be attributed to earlier diagnosis or stage migration; thus advances in cancer treatment have almost certainly contributed to them.”

Trends in survival and excess risk of death after diagnosis of cancer in 1980-1996 in New South Wales, Australia – Authors: Xue Q Yu , Dianne L O'Connell, Robert W Gibberd, Alan S Coates and Bruce K Armstrong.

The paper is available in the International Journal of Cancer.