A report by Cancer Research has revealed that ageing is the key reason for cancer cases rising in the UK with older people less likely to receive treatment for their cancer than younger people.
According to its report, Cancer in the UK: Age, over six million cancer cases are expected in England between now and 2040. Despite only making up 14 per cent of the population, over half of all cancer cases (53%) in the UK are in people over 70.
The report reveals that tackling problems that are disproportionately affecting older people would be crucial to improving cancer survival.
It found that ageing, and the increasing chance of multi-morbidites, mean that it’s more likely older people will die from cancer.
Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said: “This report shows that more than half of all cancer cases across the UK are in people over 70, but right now, they face worse detection, diagnosis and treatment of the disease. This must change.
“We’re in a golden age of cancer research, but older people are often excluded from clinical trials, which would give them access to cutting-edge new treatments. Cancer Research UK has removed unnecessary age limits on our clinical trials, but the UK Government and research funders must continue to work together to remove this barrier which could save lives, and provide researchers with invaluable data.
“It’s also vital the UK Government properly prepares the NHS for an ageing population, and the sharp rise in cancer cases that will come with it. NHS staff are doing their best, but without a plan that meets the needs of all cancer patients, the health service will seriously struggle.
“Beating cancer must mean beating it for everyone, with nobody left behind – ensuring the NHS has the specialist staff and equipment needed in the upcoming 10-year workforce plan must be a top priority for the new Health and Social Care Secretary.”
The report revealed that cancer survival has doubled since the 1970s, but improvements have been slowest in people over 75. For example, in lung cancer, women aged 15-44 have seen 10-year survival improve by 23.5 percentage points (from 9.2 per cent in 1971 to 32.7 per cent), but women over 75 have seen an improvement of just 7.8 percentage points.
Older people were found to be less likely to receive treatment for their cancer than younger people. Previous research, from the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership, has shown that older patients in other countries are more likely to receive chemotherapy or radiotherapy than in the UK.
Some older people may not be fit enough for treatment, but older people are often excluded from clinical trials, due to age cut offs, so they cannot benefit from cutting-edge treatments. Cancer Research UK is calling for this to be urgently tackled.
Older people are also more likely to be diagnosed through an emergency route, where cancer is usually spotted at a later stage and survival is lower. People over 80 are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed via an emergency route in England (33%) compared to people under 50 (15%).
Some cancer sites see particularly large gaps in early stage diagnosis – 69 per cent of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed early in people aged 20 to 49 years, compared with just 21 per cent in people aged 75 and over.
Cancer waiting times are poor across all age groups, but the report found that it is particularly bad for older people. Just half of people aged 60-79 are having cancer diagnosed within the target time of 28 days.