Women in the UK are more likely to die from cancer than many of their European counterparts, new figures have revealed.
The Social Trends report produced by the Office for National Statistics shows that in the UK in 2007, there were 153.7 deaths per 100,000 women from all cancers.
But the average number of deaths per 100,000 women for 25 EU member states was only 131.5.
The only countries with higher rates than the UK were Hungary, the Czech Republic, Ireland and Poland.
The report also shows that whilst the UK death rate from breast cancer is falling at a faster rate than the EU average, the UK death rate from breast cancer is still higher than that of the EU as a whole.
In the UK the breast cancer death rate is 26.8 deaths per 100,000 women; in the EU it is 23.6 deaths per 100,000 women.
Commenting on the new figures, Catherine Thomson, head of statistical information at Cancer Research UK, said that part of the reason that women in the UK have higher death rates from cancer is late diagnosis.
“Improving our ability to detect the disease earlier will help bring down the numbers of people dying from cancer.”
Thomson added that people should be encouraged to live healthier lifestyles to help reduce the risk of developing cancers.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health acknowledged that the UK is behind other European countries in terms of outcomes for breast, bowel and lung cancers but said that the government is committed to making improvements.
“Earlier diagnosis is crucial for us to match the best survival rates in Europe. We have already announced a campaign starting in January to alert people to early signs and symptoms of bowel, lung and breast cancer."
