UK cancer survival rates lower than comparable countries, research finds

People in the UK who are diagnosed with the two most lethal forms of cancer die sooner than those in many other comparable countries, a new study has found.

- Denis Campbell

Research by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) showed the UK ranked a lowly 31st out of 43 countries for how many people survive at least five years after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

The UK was below the EU and OECD average, as well as the survival rates in the US, Germany and France.

It ranked 26th for five-year survival from colon cancer, below South Korea, Belgium and New Zealand.

Lung cancer is the UK's biggest cancer killer, claiming 34,800 lives a year - 95 a day. Colon cancer, the second commonest form of cancer death, kills 16,800 people.

The UK fares better for five-year survival from breast cancer. It is above the OECD and EU averages on that metric, but is still only the 23rd best performer of the 45 countries examined. The disease ends 11,500 lives a year in Britain - 32 a day - and is the second most lethal form of cancer for women.