Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 October 2023
324. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Health how many people have died in Ireland from breast cancer per year from 2014 to 2021, inclusive, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45874/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraAccording to the National Cancer Registry’s (NCRI) Cancer Trends No. 38 report published in 2022, in the period 2017-2019, invasive breast cancer accounted for 31% of invasive cancers (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) in women. The total number of diagnosed cases of breast cancer per year has increased steadily since 1994.
The NCRI's Annual Statistical Report 2022 shows that, overall, 5-year net survival for breast cancer has increased from 72% in cases diagnosed in the period 1994-1998 to 88% in those diagnosed in the period 2014-2018. Increases in survival were seen across all age groups, with the greatest improvement in women in the screening age group (50-69 years) whose survival increased from 74% to 94% between 1994-1998 and 2014-2018.
Increased funding for cancer services in 2021 and 2022 has had a positive impact on waiting times in symptomatic breast disease clinics. For urgent attendances to symptomatic breast disease clinics, waiting times at the end of 2022 were down 70% compared to the previous 11 months, while waiting times were down approximately 25% compared to the previous 11 months for non-urgent attendances.
A Model of Care for Hereditary Cancer was launched in June of this year. This Model of Care will inform the development of services for the identification and management of people with an inherited cancer predisposition. New development funding in 2021 and 2022 has facilitated work in this area, including:
• Development of GP referral guidelines for breast family history.
• Completion of a needs assessment for those with a BRCA gene alteration.
• Development of online training for healthcare professionals delivering mainstreamed BRCA testing, i.e. genetic testing embedded in oncology services.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) collects and makes available data on cancer deaths by year of death. Figures are currently available up to 2020, with deaths from breast cancer (males and females) all ages, per year 2014-2020 as follows:
|
Year |
Number of deaths due to breast cancer (C50) |
|
2014 |
740 |
|
2015 |
680 |
|
2016 |
763 |
|
2017 |
729 |
|
2018 |
788 |
|
2019 |
697 |
|
2020 |
777 |
Source (data.cso.ie/table/VSD14 and data.cso.ie/table/VSA29).
