Case study - Cancer in the UK

• Cancer in the UK

  An example of a non-communicable disease at a country scale in an advanced country
• Social causes of cancer in the UK

  • Lifestyle choices
  • Smoking
  • Diet
  • Exercise
  • Sun beds
• Smoking is the largest cause of cancer in the UK, with 13% of the UK population smoking and 15% of cancer cases caused by smoking
• Obesity and overweight are the second largest cause of cancer in the UK, with over 60% of the UK population being overweight or obese and 5% of cancer cases caused by this
• Cultural causes of cancer in the UK

  Sunbathing and the use of sun beds due to a cultural preference for a tanned look, causing 4% of melanoma cases (the most dangerous skin cancer)
• Opportunities for sunbathing have increased over the past 50 years with growth in wealth and affordable package holidays to countries with high UV
• Economic causes of cancer in the UK

  Cancer rates are 3 times higher in the most deprived areas than the least deprived areas, with 14% more women in the 'most affluent' group surviving bladder cancer than the 'least affluent' group. Overweight, obesity and smoking rates are higher in more deprived groups due to reliance on cheap unhealthy foods and inequality in access to private healthcare.
• There is a north-south divide in the UK, with higher cancer cases in northern England and Scotland due to higher rates of deprivation and poverty, with a 26 year difference in life expectancy between Glasgow and Knightsbridge
• Incidence of cancer in the UK

  370,000 new cases per year, with peak cancer rates aged 85-90
• Prevalence of cancer in the UK

  3 million people living with cancer, with breast cancer being the most common
• Social impacts of cancer in the UK

  3 million people living with cancer, 160,000 deaths per year, those living with cancer often feel socially isolated leading to mental health problems like anxiety and depression
• Economic impacts of cancer in the UK

  Costs the economy £15 billion per year through absenteeism, NHS costs, early deaths and unpaid care, and costs individuals with cancer £570 per month through travel and medicine costs
• Cancer increases inequalities in the UK as it disproportionately impacts the most deprived groups, with higher cancer rates, death rates, absenteeism and no option of private healthcare
• Glasgow has the highest cancer rate of any UK health authority, with over half of the population living in the 20% most deprived wards in the UK
• Factors linking cancer to deprivation in the UK

  • Higher smoking rates
  • Higher cases of obesity
  • Worse healthcare (no private option)
  • Slower screening and treatment
  • More barriers to appointments
• Direct mitigation of cancer in the UK

  Government and NGO investment into new treatment technologies like precise radiotherapy and endoscopy for early diagnosis, NHS early screening and detection programmes, and improving radiotherapy
• Aim of Cancer Research UK

  Improving understanding of the disease, developing new treatments, discovering new drugs and exploiting the potential of genetic engineering
• Indirect mitigation of cancer in the UK

  Education and health campaigns to inform the public of the dangers of certain lifestyle habits, decreasing incidence of preventable cancers
• Cancer cases in the UK have a 50% survival rate due to direct mitigation strategies, and the extended bowel cancer screening programme has led to more than 15,000 detections since 2006
• Smoking rates in the UK have decreased from 2/3 of men in the 1950s to 1/5 in 2010, due to indirect mitigation strategies like no smoking in public places, banning advertising, and increasing minimum age to buy cigarettes
• Direct strategies for skin cancer in the UK

  Government legislating to control the commercial use of sunbeds, and direct clinical treatment like surgery and chemotherapy
• Indirect strategies for skin cancer in the UK

  Publicity campaigns warning of the dangers of sunbathing and unsupervised sunbed use, and advising on sunscreens, clothing and self-examination
• Skin cancer cases in the UK rise by 3% each year
• The government's targets in its fight against cancer are to save 5,000 lives per year, increase survival rates, and decrease the gap in survival rates between different groups
• Carcinogen


  Something that causes cancer
• There are 3 million people living with cancer in the UK
• There are 375,000 new cases of cancer in the UK each year
• The incidence rates of cancer in the UK have increased by 12%
• 35,000 working aged people die from cancer each year in the UK
• Secondary impacts of cancer in the UK

  Cancer survivors don't return to full time work due to treatment impacts, 1 million people look after someone with cancer, and there is a £585 million loss to the economy
• Incidence rates of cancer are 3 times higher in the poorest areas compared to the most affluent areas of the UK
• Direct strategies


  Strategies that involve measures to eradicate the disease
• Indirect strategies


  Strategies that involve measures that minimise the risks of the disease