Cancer strikes almost 300,000 people in England in just one year

LONDON, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Almost 300,000 people in England were diagnosed with cancer in 2014, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a new report Friday.

The figure of cancer registrations in England was 296,863, an increase of just over 4,000 compared to the previous year.

The ONS figure shows slightly more males than women were affected by cancers, with the majority of cancer sites showing more males are diagnosed with cancer than females.

The most common cancers reported were breast (15.6 percent), prostate (13.4 percent), lung (12.6 percent) and colorectal (11.5 percent). ONS said those continued to account for over half of all malignant cancer registrations in England for all ages combined.

"Cancer is a disease of the elderly, as approximately 12 percent of the population are aged 70 and above and account for 50.2 percent of the total cancers registered in 2014," said ONS.

A total of 46,417 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in 2014, accounting for 31.6 percent of all cancers in women.

In men, prostate cancer was the most common, with 39,741 cases registered, accounting for 26.3 percent of male cancer registrations.

ONS said the second most common cancer for both males and females was lung cancer. In 2014, there were 37,453 (20,127 males and 17,326 females) cases of lung cancer registered in England. Lung cancer accounted for 13.3 percent of cancers in males and 11.9 percent of female cancers.

During the early 1970s to 1980s, smoking prevalence fell among males and increased among females.

Recent figures, said ONS, suggest that 80 percent of deaths from trachea, lung and bronchus cancer were attributed to smoking.

Today's figures also show that the North East of England has the highest levels of cancers, followed by the neighboring North West. London has the lowest rate among its population. ONS said it means cancer rates among people in the North East are almost 10 percent higher than in London.

Cancer occurring in children, teenagers, and young adults (aged 0 to 24) accounted for just 1.1 percent of the total cancer registrations.