Cancer Cases in Scotland Set to Soar By Up to 50 Per Cent

By IAN SWANSON Scottish Political Editor

CASES of cancer in Scotland are set to soar by up to 50 per cent within a decade, a new report warns.

Thousands more people will be diagnosed with the disease by 2011. And obesity and sunbathing are being blamed for the steep rise, along with the country’s growing elderly population.

The Scottish Executive report examines the ability of Scotland’s radiotherapy services to cope with growing cancer rates and calls for extra cash to be spent on recruiting and training staff to treat cancer patients.

By 2011, it is thought there will be around 31,437 cases of cancer identified each year, compared to 26,441 per year between 1996 and 2000. New cases of malignant melanoma of the skin are forecast to run at more than 1000 a year, compared to 662 at the end of the last millennium.

And there will be more than 1000 extra cases of colorectal cancer every year.

Incidence of breast cancer is predicted to rise by 23 per cent. But lung cancer and cancer of the cervix are expected to decline.

Just under half of the new cancer cases which will be diagnosed by 2015 are likely to need radiotherapy as part of their initial disease management, according to the report.

It said 16 more machines for delivering radiotherapy treatment will be needed, on top of the extra equipment already in the pipeline, to meet the projected surge in patients within existing working patterns.

However, it also suggested more intensive use of the existing machines, operating them for longer each day and on public holidays, as a first step to addressing the problem. Health minister Andy Kerr yesterday announced extra funding to train additional radiotherapy staff.

He said: “We know that as the population ages, incidence of cancer will increase. Radiotherapy is a key part of cancer treatment, that is why I want to act now so that patients will be able to receive the treatment they need as quickly as possible.”

Other aspects of cancer care such as chemotherapy and scanning patients are also being looked at.

Professor Alan Rodger, chairman of the Scottish Radiotherapy Advisory Group, which is taking forward the recommendations from the report, praised the Scottish Executive for taking a pro-active approach to the problem. Extra training places for radiographers who deliver the treatment have already been funded, he said.

“There is not going to be a sudden increase, it is going to be gradual and we are planning for it that way. We will be able to cope with a gradual increase.”

But he said there was an international shortage of medical physicists involved in supervising the dose of radiation used to treat a tumour. Responding to the radiotherapy report, Mr Kerr said up to GBP 75,000 will be spent next year, rising to GBP 300,000 a year in 2009, on two additional training posts for radiotherapy physicists. A further GBP 160,000 will be spent over two years to develop consultant posts for radiographers.

He added: “Cancer treatment in Scotland is as good as anywhere in the world. I am pleased that we are planning ahead to ensure patients continue to get the quality treatment they expect and deserve.”