All-Ireland Cancer Atlas shows major variation in cancer risk by area
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The first all-Ireland cancer atlas, which will be published on December 9th by the National Cancer Registry and the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry, shows major unexplained variations across the island in the risk of most common cancers. The atlas shows that in the period 1995-2007:
- Coastal and urban areas had a significantly higher risk of both types of skin cancer;
- Bowel cancer was more common around Cork city and in a band across the north of the island;
- Lung cancer risk was higher in urban areas—Belfast, Dublin, Derry and Cork—and in the east
- Prostate cancer risk was much higher in the Republic of Ireland than in N. Ireland
- Stomach cancer risk was highest in a band running from Dublin to Donegal;
The risk of many cancers was related to the level of socio-economic deprivation in the area.
- Lung, stomach, head and neck and cervical cancer risk was higher in areas of high unemployment or low educational attainment, while skin, breast and prostate cancer risk was lower in these areas.
- Cancer risk was higher in more densely populated areas.
- Cancer risk was higher, for many cancers, in areas with a higher proportion of elderly people living alone.
- 1. Foreword and summary
- 2. Introduction and methods
- 3. Non-melanoma skin cancer
- 4. Breast cancer
- 5. Colorectal cancer
- 6. Lung cancer
- 7. Prostate cancer
- 8. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- 9. Stomach cancer
- 10. Melanoma of the skin
- 11. Bladder cancer
- 12. Head and neck cancer
- 13. Leukaemia
- 14. Pancreatic cancer
- 15. Kidney cancer
- 16. Oesophageal cancer
- 17. Ovarian cancer
- 18. Brain and other central nervous system cancer
- 19. Cancer of the corpus uteri
- 20. Cancer of cervix uteri
- 21. Discussion
- 22. Conclusions and recommendations
- 23. Appendix tables
- 24. References
The full Atlas can be downloaded here (large file (195MB)
Or as individual chapters: