UPDATE - Issue 30 - Summer 2007
Survival rates improve
Government statistics show that survival rates for prostate cancer have improved markedly over the past two decades. The percentage of patients surviving for five years after diagnosis is given in the table.
| 5 year survival % | 1991 to 1995 | 1996 to 1999 | 1998 to 2001 |
| 53.6 | 64.8 | 71.0 |
It is thought that much of the rise is attributable to increasingly widespread use of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing.
Cancer Research UK have identified that cancer death rates of men in deprived areas were 70 per cent higher than within more affluent communities.