Cancer

Introduction

After circulatory disease, cancer is the biggest cause of death in Somerset, in line with the national picture.  Cancer also tends to be responsible for deaths at a younger age than circulatory disease.  The risk of many cancers or their onset can be delayed or prevented by healthy lifestyles.

Cancer Prevalence

The prevalence of cancer (number of people with the condition) based on the number of patients recorded on the GP Practice cancer registers in Somerset is 3.4% (19,432 people) in 2016/17. This is significantly higher than the England average of 2.6%, but is at least partly related to the relatively elderly population of the county.  The number of people recorded by GP Practices in Somerset has significantly increased over the past five years up from 2.6% ( (14,249) in 2012/13.  A similar pattern has been seen across England.  Source: Public Health England Cancer Services

Cancer Incidence

The number of new cases registered in Somerset has increased from 3,081 in 2005 to 3,434 in 2015, reflecting the national trend.

Where the England age standardized rate for 2015 was 605/100,000, Somerset's standardized rate was 562/100,000. 

' - ' indicates small numbers that cannot be reported.

Source: Cancerdata

Cancer Mortality

Cancers cause more deaths in Somerset than any other condition type apart from circulatory diseases. In 2015, there were 1,601 deaths caused by cancers in Somerset.

The main causes of mortality were:-

' - ' indicates small numbers that cannot be reported.

Source: Cancerdata

Skin Cancer

For detailed information about skin cancer, please click here.

Key facts for Somerset:

• More people develop skin cancer and die from it in Somerset than the England average.
• The number of new cases in Somerset has risen by almost 50 % in the past ten years
• The incidence of malignant melanoma for all ages in Somerset is significantly higher than the England average with 574 cases diagnosed between 2011 and 2013, a rate of 34.0 cases per 100,000 population against an England average of 23.3 cases per 100,000 population.

Source: National Cancer intelligence Network - Skin Cancer Hub

Cancer Survival rates

One year survival rates, in 2015, for Somerset were clearly higher than the national average, at 72.8% compared to the England average of 72.3%, although just short of being statistically significant.  One year survival rates for three major cancer types are shown below.

Cancer screening

There were 55,769 females in Somerset screened for breast cancer in 2017. This represents 77.9% of the eligible population and was significantly above the England average (75.4%).

There were 100,567 females in Somerset screened for cervical cancer in 2017. This represents 74.3% of the eligible population and was significantly above the England average (72.0%).

There were 64,030 people in Somerset screened for bowel cancer in 2017. This represents 62.7% of the eligible population and was significantly above the England average (58.8%).

Despite being better than the England average, there has been a significant decline in screening coverage across all measures in Somerset over the past five years. 

HPV Vaccination

Having the HPV vaccine reduces the risk of getting cervical cancer by over 70%. Uptake of HPV vaccination in Somerset is increasing – in 2013/14 academic year, the proportion of eligible girls (12-13 year-olds) receiving all three doses of the vaccination rose from 91% to 92.5%, above the England average of 86.7%. In Somerset in 2012/13 waiting times for initial tests and subsequent treatment for cancer were similar to the England average.

See also Sexual Health

Amongst children and young people

Cancer incidence amongst people aged 0-24

During the five-year period 2011-15 there was an average of 32.2 new cancer cases per year for this age group in Somerset. This is a standardised rate of 21.6 per 100,000 for males, and 21.8 per 100,000 for females. .

Cancer survival rates amongst children

The proportion of children (aged 0-14 years) diagnosed with cancer in England between 1990 and 2006 surviving five years has increased significantly since 1990 from 67% to 81%.

Increases in survival over this period have been slightly larger in those aged 5–9 years at diagnosis than in those aged 0–4 years or 10–14 years. Five-year survival has consistently been above 80% for all childhood cancers combined since those diagnosed in 2004.

Source: Office for National Statistics (released December 2013)