Cancer trends in the UK: grounds for optimism but warning signs must not be ignored

Dr Freddie Bray, Head of the Cancer Surveillance Branch at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), notes the urgent need for increased awareness of the cancer risks of excess body weight, alcohol consumption, and other modifiable factors, in a new editorial published in the journal BMJ.

Dr Bray reviewed a new study published in the BMJ examining the incidence and mortality trends of 23 cancer types in the United Kingdom from 1993 to 2018 among adults aged 35–69 years.

The main results of this study, which showed that total cancer mortality rates decreased by 2% among men and by 1.6% among women per annum, are encouraging. However, evidence is emerging of a rise in the incidence and mortality rates for some common cancer types among adults in younger (unscreened) age groups. Dr Bray posits that the increasing rates of certain cancer types among recent generations may be linked to risk factors that act early in life or during young adulthood. He concludes that effective interventions that increase awareness of modifiable risk factors for cancer must be prioritized.

Bray F
Cancer trends in the UK: grounds for optimism but warning signs must not be ignored
BMJ, Published online 13 March 2024;
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.q504

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