- 12 September 2019
- 5 min read
UK at bottom of league table for some key cancers
SubscribeThe UK has the poorest five-year survival rate for five out of seven cancers, including bowel and lung.

Bottom of the league
The UK sits at the bottom of a major league table for cancer survival in high-income countries, researchers have warned.
While survival rates are improving for patients across the UK, the country still performs worst for key cancers including bowel, lung and pancreatic.
Cancer Research UK, which manages the analysis, published in the journal Lancet Oncology, said the Government must correct staff shortages across the NHS and address late diagnosis.
Report looked at data between 1995 - 2014
The study looked at 3.9 million cancer cases between 1995 and 2014 in seven comparable high-income countries with universal healthcare (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and the UK).
The data covered seven cancers – of the oesophagus, stomach, colon (bowel), rectum, pancreas, lung and ovary.
It showed that cancer survival one year after diagnosis and at the five-year mark has improved across all seven types of cancer in the UK over the last 20 years.
For example, five-year survival for rectal cancer in the UK has risen by 14 percentage points since 1995, from 48% to 62%.
The UK also has one of the highest increases in five-year survival – almost 12 percentage points – across all countries for bowel cancer.
One-year survival for lung, ovarian and oesophageal cancer has also increased by around 15 percentage points in the last 20 years.
However, the UK has still not caught up with other countries, and sits at the bottom of the league table for five out of the seven cancers.
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