New report shows sharp rise in male oesophageal cancer cases

A new report from Cancer Research UK has demonstrated a sharp rise in the number of oesophogeal cancer cases in the last 30 years.

The latest figures show the number of men diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in the UK has rapidly risen from around 2,700 cases in the early 1980s to 5,740 cases in 2012.

Accounting for the changes in population size, this equates to a 50 percent increase from 15 to 23 cases per 100,000 people. This is substantially greater than the corresponding ten percent increase in women during the same timeframe.

According to the report, this indicates the importance of developing a simple way to diagnose those with the related condition called Barrett’s oesophagus, who are at high risk of going on to develop cancer.

Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald, Cancer Research UK oesophageal cancer expert at the University of Cambridge, said: “If we can pick up Barrett’s oesophagus in more people, it could mean we can stop the disease becoming cancer. Catching it early is absolutely critical to survival.”

Oesophageal cancer is the sixth most common cause of cancer death in the UK, with around 5,200 men dying from the disease in 2012.