7.1 Summary

Prostate cancer was the most common cancer in men, accounting for 23% of all malignant neoplasms, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer, in men in Ireland (Table 7.1). The average number of new cases diagnosed each year was 2,550. Between 1995 and 2007, the number of new cases more than doubled, increasing by approximately 7% per annum. From 1995 to 2001, the number of new cases diagnosed per annum rose by approximately 9% in RoI and by 2% in NI. From 2002 to 2007 the annual increase was 5% in RoI and 6% in NI.

The risk of developing prostate cancer up to the age of 74 was 1 in 13 and was higher in RoI than in NI. At the end of 2008, 5,235 males aged under 65 and 17,829 aged 65 and over were alive up to 15 years after their prostate cancer diagnosis.

Table 7.1 Summary information for prostate cancer in Ireland, 1995-2007

 

Ireland

RoI

NI

% all new cancer cases

17%

18%

14%

% all new cancer cases excluding non-melanoma skin cancer

23%

25%

19%

average number of new cases per year 1995-2007

2550

1900

649

average number of new cases per year 1995-2001

1955

1439

517

average number of new cases per year 2002-2007

3243

2439

804

cumulative risk to age 74

8.0%

8.9%

6.0%

15-year prevalence (1994-2008)

23064

17430

5634

Prostate cancer is predominantly a disease of old age. Just over 1% of cases presented in those aged under 50, while 87% occurred in those aged 60 and older (Figure 7.1). Age at diagnosis was slightly older in NI than in RoI, with 60% aged 70 and over at diagnosis in NI compared with 53% in RoI.

Figure 7.1 Age distribution of prostate cancer cases in Ireland, 1995-2007

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