Page last updated: 27-OCT-2009

Cancer Mortality

ONS kitemarkStatistical Publication Notice

27 October 2009

Cancer Mortality (2008)

INTRODUCTION

Cancer deaths in Scotland are updated in this report, which covers the years 1985-2008 for each main type of cancer, replacing information previously available on the ISD website. The data are drawn from the General Register Office for Scotland deaths tables.
 
This publication also includes an update of cancer incidence and mortality rates by the 2006 Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintiles for 28 major types of cancer for which detailed information is provided on the Cancer Information Programme website.

KEY POINTS

In recent years, the overall age-standardised cancer mortality rates have fallen for both males and females. However, there is considerable variation in trends for different types of cancer. For example, the rate of female deaths due to colorectal cancer has decreased 16% over the last 10 years, while female death rates due to lung cancer have increased more than 11% over the same time period.
 
Although the age-standardised rate of death due to cancer has decreased, the actual number of deaths due to cancer has increased: this largely reflects an increase in older age groups within the population, and the fact that cancer is a relatively common disease among the elderly.
 
Significant patterns exist when examining incidence and mortality rates by deprivation in Scotland. The most deprived areas have higher incidence and mortality rates for all cancers combined. However, there are variations in this pattern when looking at specific types of cancer, for example malignant melanoma.

INTERPRETATION

The cancer mortality rates for the less common cancers may be highly variable from year to year; this is due in part to random fluctuation due to small numbers. As such, cancer mortality trends are more stable when assessed over longer time periods, such as decades.
 
All time trends were estimated using Poisson regression.
 
Cancer mortality data are sourced from the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS), as released on their website in August 2009: http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/
 
For some cancers with short median survival times, such as liver and pancreas, there appear to be more deaths than incident cases. For the most part, this is likely to be an artefact of the different time periods used for the incidence data (2002-2006) compared to the mortality data (2004-2008).

DETAILED FINDINGS

Cancer Mortality
  • In 2008, 15,211 people died from cancer.
  • Taking all cancers combined, age-standardised cancer mortality rates have decreased by about 7% over the 10 year period of 1998-2008, with a greater decrease in males than in females (12% and 5% decreases, respectively)
  • The cancers that account for the greatest number of deaths in Scotland are cancers of the lung (4080), colorectal (1565), breast (1050) and oesophagus (831).
  • The mortality rates for these four major cancers are decreasing except for lung cancer in females, which continues to increase. The changes in cancer mortality rates over the period 1998-2008 were: colorectal for males and females combined, -16%; female breast, -13%; prostate, -12%, male lung cancer -21%, female lung cancer +11.5%.
  • Taking all cancers combined, the rate of cancer mortality (standardised to the European standard population) in the under 75 year olds has decreased by just over 20% since 1995. The Scottish Government has a target  to reduce the cancer mortality rate in this age group by 20% between 1995 and 2010.
Cancer Incidence and Mortality by Deprivation Quintile
  • Significant patterns exist when examining incidence and mortality rates by deprivation in Scotland. Considering all cancers combined, the most deprived areas have incidence rates almost 40% higher than the least deprived areas; mortality rates for all cancers combined are approximately 75% higher in the most deprived than the least deprived areas.
  • However, there are variations in this pattern when looking at specific types of cancer. For example, while lung cancer incidence and mortality rates are higher in the most deprived areas of Scotland, incidence and mortality rates of malignant melanoma of the skin (melanoma skin cancer) are higher in the least deprived areas of Scotland.
  • Cancers most directly associated with smoking tend to be strongly correlated with deprivation, having the highest incidence and mortality rates in the most deprived areas; these include cancers of the trachea, bronchus and lung, oral cavity and larynx.
  • The incidence of (and mortality from) cervical cancer tends to be higher in more deprived women, reflecting socio-economic differences in exposure to risk factors, and lower attendance for cervical screening, which aims to prevent cervical cancer by diagnosing and treating pre-cancerous changes. In contrast, the incidence of breast cancer tends to be higher in less deprived areas. Again, this is likely to reflect differences in exposure to risk factors, and higher rates of attendance at breast screening, since breast screening is not designed to prevent breast cancer, but rather to diagnose the disease as early as possible, when treatment is more likely to be effective.
  • Similarly, incidence of prostate cancer is negatively correlated with deprivation (higher incidence in the less deprived areas) but mortality has no correlation with deprivation quintile. The higher incidence of prostate cancer in less deprived areas may reflect higher rates of PSA testing of the populations in these areas.
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MAIN CONTACTS:

Susan Jensen
Principal Statistician
0131 275 6125
Susan.Jensen@nhs.net

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GLOSSARY:

Colorectal cancer is synonymous with bowel cancer in this context.

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PRE-RELEASE ACCESS:

Under terms of the "Pre-Release Access to Official Statistics (Scotland) Order 2008", ISD are obliged to publish information on those receiving Pre-Release Access ("Pre-Release Access" refers to statistics in their final form prior to publication). The standard maximum Pre-Release Access is five working days. Shown below are details of those receiving standard Pre-Release Access and, separately, those receiving extended Pre-Release Access.
 
Standard (five day) Pre-Release Access:
Scottish Government Health Department (Analytical Services Division)
NHS Board Chief Executives
NHS Board Communication leads
ScotPHN
 
Extended Pre-Release Access:
Scottish Government Health Department (Analytical Services Division)
This extended Pre-Release Access is given to a small number of named individuals in the Scottish Government Health Department (Analytical Services Division). This Pre-Release Access is for the sole purpose of enabling that department to gain an understanding of the statistics prior to briefing others in Scottish Government (during the period of standard Pre-Release Access).
 
 
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HISTORY OF THIS PUBLICATION:

Last Published: September 2008
Next Due: October 2010
Data Available Since: Data on cancer mortality are currently published from 1985 onwards.  Earlier data are available on request.

 


Main contact: Email Susan Jensen