More people surviving cancer in Northern Ireland

Public release date: 28-Feb-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Lisa McElroy
lisa.mcelroy@qub.ac.uk
44-289-097-5384
Queen's University Belfast

Despite the rising incidence of cancer in Northern Ireland, the number of people surviving the disease in the country is increasing significantly year on year.

Each year there are between 50-60 men and women who survive the deadly effects of cancer who previously would have died.

The survival rates in Northern Ireland for cancers including breast and colorectal are among the best in the UK, and its patients are benefiting from improved treatment outcomes by up to four per cent better than those for England and Wales.

The figures have been revealed as Queen's University Belfast accepted a Diamond Jubilee Queen's Anniversary Prize at Buckingham Palace, in recognition of its leadership of the Northern Ireland Comprehensive Cancer Services (CCS) programme.

The CCS programme has been credited with driving forward the improvements in cancer survival in Northern Ireland. It is a collaboration led by Queen's University in partnership with the Department of Health and the five Northern Ireland Health Trusts with support from the medical research industry.

The programme has resulted in the reorganisation of cancer services across Northern Ireland, and investment of more than 200 million in infrastructure and personnel for treatment and research by the University and the health service.

The CCS programme was also recently described by the distinguished medical journal, The Oncologist, as 'life-extending research that is emblematic of the way cancer medicine should be conducted in the 21st century.'

Accepting the prize, Professor Patrick Johnston, Dean of the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, said: "Despite the rising incidence rates of cancer, between 1993 and 2009, the number of men dying from cancer has gone down by 1.3 per cent and the number of women by 0.9 per cent. Some of our survivors are currently alive and well a significant number of years after the kind of cancer that not so long ago would have taken them from us.

"Cancer no longer needs to be seen as an inevitable death sentence. In many instances it can now be viewed instead as a chronic disease."

He added: "This award underpins our reputation as a global centre of excellence for cancer care. To receive it is a singular honour, not just for Queen's but for the whole of Northern Ireland and in particular all the fundraisers, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, the five Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Trusts and our supporters from the national and international medical research industry.

"Our strength lies in a multidisciplinary approach teams of scientists and clinicians working together across academic and NHS boundaries on behalf of cancer patients and their families."

Queen's Vice Chancellor Professor Sir Peter Gregson said: "Queen's is committed to high quality translational research. We are seeing innovations which are providing life-saving and life-enhancing results, reflecting our drive to become a global force in the fight against cancer."

The pillars of the CCS programme are the Clinical Cancer Centre at Belfast City Hospital, the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, the Cancer Research Programme at Queen's and the University's Northern Ireland Cancer Registry which provides vital information about research and outcomes.

###

.

Media inquiries to Lisa McElroy, Senior Communications Officer. Tel: +44(0)28 90 97 5384 or m 0044(0)781 44 22 572 or email lisa.mcelroy@qub.ac.uk

Notes to Editors

1) For interview requests, please contact Lisa McElroy, Tel: +44(0)28 90 97 5384 or m 0044(0)781 44 22 572 or email lisa.mcelroy@qub.ac.uk

2) A Queen's Anniversary Prize is the UK's most prestigious form of national recognition for a UK Higher or Further Education institution. Queen's has won an award in five rounds of the Queen's Anniversary Prizes. The University was previously honoured for world-class excellence in law, environmental research, palaeoecology and green chemistry.

3) Patient survival is one of the best indicators as to the efficiency of diagnostic and treatment methods in a geographic area, and is widely used as a broad indicator as the effectiveness of health services in the treatment of cancer. Survival figures for Northern Ireland now reveal:

• Breast cancer survival at three years, has risen from 79 per cent in 1996 to 84 per cent in 2006.
• Between 2001 and 2006 survival from oesophageal cancer improved from significantly with one year survival increasing from 32 per cent to 39 per cent.
• Prostrate cancer exhibited continuous improvement from 1996 to 2006, mostly due to the increase in number and type of prostrate cancers diagnosed as a result of the increase in use of PSA testing.
• For lung cancer patients who had surgery, survival was significantly different with 21-month observed survival at 44 per cent in 1996, 64 per cent in 2001 and 74 per cent in 2006.

4) Further information on the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences at Queen's can be found online at http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/mdbs/

5) A member of the Russell Group of the UK's 20 leading research-intensive universities, Queen's University has gained global recognition for the impact of its research and education. In addition to five Queen's Anniversary Prizes, the University has won Four prestigious Times Higher Education (THE) Awards further recognise the University's contribution to society. Queen's received the award for Excellence and Innovation in the Arts in 2008, was awarded the title of the UK's Entrepreneurial University of the Year in 2009, the Outstanding Engineering Research Team of the Year in 2010 and Most Innovative Teacher of the Year in 2011.

Founded as Queen's College in 1845, Queen's became a university in its own right in1908. An international centre of research and education rooted at the heart of Northern Ireland, it offers a life-changing student experience to students from more than 80 countries. Queen's is a magnet for inward investment, a patron of the arts and a global player in areas ranging from cancer studies to sustainability, and from pharmaceuticals to creative writing.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 28-Feb-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Lisa McElroy
lisa.mcelroy@qub.ac.uk
44-289-097-5384
Queen's University Belfast

Despite the rising incidence of cancer in Northern Ireland, the number of people surviving the disease in the country is increasing significantly year on year.

Each year there are between 50-60 men and women who survive the deadly effects of cancer who previously would have died.

The survival rates in Northern Ireland for cancers including breast and colorectal are among the best in the UK, and its patients are benefiting from improved treatment outcomes by up to four per cent better than those for England and Wales.

The figures have been revealed as Queen's University Belfast accepted a Diamond Jubilee Queen's Anniversary Prize at Buckingham Palace, in recognition of its leadership of the Northern Ireland Comprehensive Cancer Services (CCS) programme.

The CCS programme has been credited with driving forward the improvements in cancer survival in Northern Ireland. It is a collaboration led by Queen's University in partnership with the Department of Health and the five Northern Ireland Health Trusts with support from the medical research industry.

The programme has resulted in the reorganisation of cancer services across Northern Ireland, and investment of more than 200 million in infrastructure and personnel for treatment and research by the University and the health service.

The CCS programme was also recently described by the distinguished medical journal, The Oncologist, as 'life-extending research that is emblematic of the way cancer medicine should be conducted in the 21st century.'

Accepting the prize, Professor Patrick Johnston, Dean of the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, said: "Despite the rising incidence rates of cancer, between 1993 and 2009, the number of men dying from cancer has gone down by 1.3 per cent and the number of women by 0.9 per cent. Some of our survivors are currently alive and well a significant number of years after the kind of cancer that not so long ago would have taken them from us.

"Cancer no longer needs to be seen as an inevitable death sentence. In many instances it can now be viewed instead as a chronic disease."

He added: "This award underpins our reputation as a global centre of excellence for cancer care. To receive it is a singular honour, not just for Queen's but for the whole of Northern Ireland and in particular all the fundraisers, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, the five Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Trusts and our supporters from the national and international medical research industry.

"Our strength lies in a multidisciplinary approach teams of scientists and clinicians working together across academic and NHS boundaries on behalf of cancer patients and their families."

Queen's Vice Chancellor Professor Sir Peter Gregson said: "Queen's is committed to high quality translational research. We are seeing innovations which are providing life-saving and life-enhancing results, reflecting our drive to become a global force in the fight against cancer."

The pillars of the CCS programme are the Clinical Cancer Centre at Belfast City Hospital, the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, the Cancer Research Programme at Queen's and the University's Northern Ireland Cancer Registry which provides vital information about research and outcomes.

###

.

Media inquiries to Lisa McElroy, Senior Communications Officer. Tel: +44(0)28 90 97 5384 or m 0044(0)781 44 22 572 or email lisa.mcelroy@qub.ac.uk

Notes to Editors

1) For interview requests, please contact Lisa McElroy, Tel: +44(0)28 90 97 5384 or m 0044(0)781 44 22 572 or email lisa.mcelroy@qub.ac.uk

2) A Queen's Anniversary Prize is the UK's most prestigious form of national recognition for a UK Higher or Further Education institution. Queen's has won an award in five rounds of the Queen's Anniversary Prizes. The University was previously honoured for world-class excellence in law, environmental research, palaeoecology and green chemistry.

3) Patient survival is one of the best indicators as to the efficiency of diagnostic and treatment methods in a geographic area, and is widely used as a broad indicator as the effectiveness of health services in the treatment of cancer. Survival figures for Northern Ireland now reveal:

• Breast cancer survival at three years, has risen from 79 per cent in 1996 to 84 per cent in 2006.
• Between 2001 and 2006 survival from oesophageal cancer improved from significantly with one year survival increasing from 32 per cent to 39 per cent.
• Prostrate cancer exhibited continuous improvement from 1996 to 2006, mostly due to the increase in number and type of prostrate cancers diagnosed as a result of the increase in use of PSA testing.
• For lung cancer patients who had surgery, survival was significantly different with 21-month observed survival at 44 per cent in 1996, 64 per cent in 2001 and 74 per cent in 2006.

4) Further information on the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences at Queen's can be found online at http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/mdbs/

5) A member of the Russell Group of the UK's 20 leading research-intensive universities, Queen's University has gained global recognition for the impact of its research and education. In addition to five Queen's Anniversary Prizes, the University has won Four prestigious Times Higher Education (THE) Awards further recognise the University's contribution to society. Queen's received the award for Excellence and Innovation in the Arts in 2008, was awarded the title of the UK's Entrepreneurial University of the Year in 2009, the Outstanding Engineering Research Team of the Year in 2010 and Most Innovative Teacher of the Year in 2011.

Founded as Queen's College in 1845, Queen's became a university in its own right in1908. An international centre of research and education rooted at the heart of Northern Ireland, it offers a life-changing student experience to students from more than 80 countries. Queen's is a magnet for inward investment, a patron of the arts and a global player in areas ranging from cancer studies to sustainability, and from pharmaceuticals to creative writing.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-02/qub-mps022812.php

huntington disease new world trade center west memphis three shaun white taxes game of thrones season 2 trailer sag award winners