UK "needs better oesophageal cancer diagnostics"
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Research into better diagnostics for oesophageal cancer is needed in the UK to address a significant increase in incidence of the disease, the government's chief adviser has warned. In his 2007 annual report as chief medical officer for England, published yesterday, Sir Liam Donaldson reports that the UK has some of the highest rates of the disease in Europe. Contrary to sharp decreases in some European countries, such as France, he notes, the disease has risen by 86% in men and 40% in women over the last 20 years in the UK, making it the sixth most common cause of cancer death. Some 6,000 people die annually from the disease in England and Wales.