Cancer Research UK – July 2023
Today, more than 90% of women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer will survive the disease for 5 years or more.
That’s thanks to research. And to the people who take part.
Between 1993 and 2015, more than half a million women in England were diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. Not only did they face something life-changing, they also helped change things for the better.
Here’s how. Patients can choose to share their NHS health data, which researchers can apply to use to track trends over time. 512,447 women contributed their information to a groundbreaking study we funded into how breast cancer mortality in England has changed since the early 1990s.
This is what they showed us: women in England diagnosed with early breast cancer today are 66% less likely to die from the disease within the first 5 years than they were 20 years ago.
“The prognosis for patients with breast cancer has improved,” says oncologist and senior author Dr David Dodwell, from the University of Oxford’s Department of Population Health. “And that improvement is dramatic.”
Let’s put it another way. In the late 1990s, the average 5-year risk of dying from breast cancer after being diagnosed with the disease in its early stages was 1 in 7. Now it’s 1 in 20.
“Our general feeling that things are getting better has been confirmed,” continues Dodwell. “And not only that: we can probably be more optimistic than we had dared to hope.”
We can use that optimism now as much as ever. There’s still much more to do.
Cancer Services News 