Vol. 473 No. 6
110 Mr. D. Ahern asked the Minister for Health if he will tabulate the statistics from the National Cancer Register which indicate the incidence of various types of cancer in males and in females; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2009/97]
Limerick East): The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table. The figures, supplied by the National Cancer Register, are for the most common types of cancer occuring in 1994. They are ranked by total national frequency and divided between male, female and total population as follows: the total number of cases recorded; the percentage of all cases represented by each type of cancer and the rate of cancers recorded per 100,000 population after adjustment for differences in age distribution between populations.
The National Cancer Register started to collect national data on the incidence — i.e. number of new cases — of cancer for the first time in respect of 1994. The register will shortly publish its first report which will contain considerable detail about cancer in Ireland. The Deputy will see from the following table that there are variations between males and females in the incidence of certain types of cancer. These variations may be due to the use of tobacco and alcohol, differences in diet and other lifestyle factors. However, cancer is generally seen as a multifactorial disease and it is rarely possible to identify a single causative factor.
It is important to note that the data refer to new cases of cancer recorded in 1994. The total number of persons with cancer — i.e. prevalence as opposed to incidence — would be much higher than these figures. The National Cancer Register data on the prevalence of cancer will improve as data over a number of years from 1994 onwards become available.
Incidence of Twenty Most Common Cancers, 1994
|
Cancer type |
Males |
Females |
Males and Females |
||||||
|
Cases |
% of total |
Rate per 100,000* |
Cases |
% of total |
Rate per 100,000* |
Cases |
% of total |
Rate per 100,000* |
|
|
Skin |
3,327 |
35.3 |
150.37 |
3,080 |
31.2 |
111.35 |
6,407 |
33.2 |
128.4 |
|
Breast |
13 |
0.1 |
0.56 |
1,544 |
15.6 |
72.12 |
1,557 |
8.1 |
37.33 |
|
Lung |
987 |
10.5 |
45.04 |
468 |
4.7 |
17.31 |
1,455 |
7.5 |
30.03 |
|
Colorectal** |
995 |
10.6 |
45.07 |
790 |
8 |
28.87 |
1,785 |
9.2 |
36.14 |
|
Cervix |
— |
— |
— |
1,061 |
10.7 |
56.22 |
1,061 |
5.5 |
28.24 |
|
Prostate |
1,100 |
10.6 |
41.2 |
— |
— |
— |
1,000 |
5.2 |
17.76 |
|
Unkown primary |
366 |
3.9 |
16.52 |
312 |
3.2 |
11.23 |
678 |
3.5 |
13.67 |
|
Blood/marrow/ spleen |
357 |
3.8 |
16.47 |
314 |
3.2 |
12.03 |
671 |
3.5 |
13.98 |
|
Bladder |
345 |
3.7 |
15.01 |
164 |
1.7 |
6 |
509 |
2.6 |
9.98 |
|
Melanoma |
165 |
1.8 |
7.86 |
315 |
3.2 |
13.74 |
480 |
2.5 |
10.77 |
|
Stomach |
304 |
3.2 |
13.76 |
172 |
1.7 |
5.99 |
476 |
2.5 |
9.62 |
|
Lymph nodes |
155 |
1.6 |
7.44 |
142 |
1.4 |
6.27 |
297 |
1.5 |
6.82 |
|
Oesophagus |
168 |
1.8 |
7.68 |
127 |
1.3 |
4.21 |
295 |
1.5 |
5.77 |
|
Pancreas |
142 |
1.5 |
6.27 |
142 |
1.4 |
4.62 |
284 |
1.5 |
5.38 |
|
Ovary |
— |
— |
— |
280 |
2.8 |
12.53 |
280 |
1.4 |
6.49 |
|
Brain |
142 |
1.5 |
7.58 |
113 |
1.1 |
5.59 |
255 |
1.3 |
6.56 |
|
Kidney |
138 |
1.5 |
6.79 |
80 |
0.8 |
3.1 |
218 |
1.1 |
4.83 |
|
Corpus uteri |
— |
— |
— |
182 |
1.8 |
8.15 |
182 |
0.9 |
4.25 |
