A new report from Cancer Research UK finds huge disparities in cancer care, with people living in more deprived areas more likely to be diagnosed late and offered less effective treatments.
Cancer death rates are nearly 60% higher for people living in the most deprived areas of the UK compared with the least deprived, with around 28,400 cancer deaths each year linked to socioeconomic inequality.
“No one should be at a greater risk of dying from this devastating disease simply because of where they live,” said Ian Walker, executive director of policy and information at Cancer Research UK, following the publication of a new report that looks at the connection between deprivation and cancer.
Around one in ten of all cancer diagnoses in the UK are linked to deprivation. Many of these are caused by preventable risk factors such as smoking and obesity.
“Socioeconomic deprivation is an umbrella term encompassing income, employment, health, education, housing, crime and access to services. But while the link between deprivation and cancer inequalities may be multi-faceted and complex, this must not be an excuse for inaction,” writes Naser Turabi, director of evidence & implementation at Cancer Research UK, in the introduction to the report.
Smoking and obesity
Smoking is the biggest cause of cancer in the UK, and smoking rates in the most deprived parts of the country are at least triple those in the least deprived. Smoking causes at least 16 different types of cancer and more than six in ten lung cancer cases in the UK.
As the report makes clear, although smoking rates in the UK have been falling for decades, this decline has been slower in more deprived areas.
Obesity is the second biggest cause of cancer, and almost four in ten people living in the most deprived areas of England are obese.
The report highlights the extreme example of Scotland. There, in 2003, obesity rates were higher in the most versus least deprived areas (29% compared to 21%), but by 2022, obesity rates among the most deprived had increased to 36% compared to only 19% in the least deprived.
Inequalities in access to outdoor space and food environment are extremely complex and people from lower income groups often face substantial challenges when it comes to living healthily.
Disparities in cancer care
The report also highlights huge disparities in cancer care, with people living in more deprived areas more likely to be diagnosed late and offered less effective treatments.
“People from more deprived areas are being diagnosed too late. Improving access to NHS services through funding and innovation will be vital so that everyone gets the care they deserve,” said Walker.
People living in the most deprived areas of England are also more likely to have to wait more than 104 days to begin treatment after an urgent suspected cancer referral.
Data from Cancer Research last year found that patients living in the most deprived areas were 33% more likely to wait over 104 days when compared to the least deprived quintile – that’s even when gender, age, cancer site, financial year and the trust where a patient received a decision to treat were controlled for.
“To tackle cancer inequalities, our health services need to work together with communities themselves – to prevent the causes of cancer and spot the disease earlier,” said Karis Betts, Cancer Research UK’s inequalities programme lead.
