Cancer survival rates in Wales return to pre-pandemic levels

Cancer survival rates in Wales have recovered to pre-pandemic levels, but significant inequalities linked to deprivation have widened, new figures show.

Statistics published by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (WCISU) at Public Health Wales found that one-year cancer survival had rebounded by 2022 after falling sharply during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Survival dropped by four percentage points between 2019 and 2020, but has since returned to around 75% for people diagnosed between 2018 and 2022. Five-year survival over the same period stands at 60%, after accounting for other causes of death.

However, the report warns that overall progress has stalled, with survival rates largely unchanged compared to the middle of the last decade following earlier improvements in the 2000s.

The data also highlights persistent and growing inequalities, with people living in more deprived areas significantly less likely to survive cancer.

Between 2018 and 2022, there was a 12.2 percentage point gap in five-year survival between the most and least deprived communities in Wales.

The gap appears to be widening in some cancers. In colorectal cancer, for example, survival rates have improved in the least deprived areas while remaining largely unchanged in the most deprived, reversing earlier progress in narrowing the divide.

For the first time, the report also examines survival by stage of diagnosis and deprivation. It found that for cancers diagnosed at a late stage, five-year survival was 41.4% in the least deprived areas compared with 31.5% in the most deprived.

The relationship between deprivation and survival varied by cancer type. Significant gaps were seen in colorectal and lung cancers at later stages, while no clear link was found in prostate and female breast cancers.

Researchers suggest that disruption to screening programmes, GP referrals and diagnostic services during the pandemic may have affected different communities unevenly, contributing to the widening gap.

Professor Dyfed Wyn Huws, director of WCISU, said the recovery in short-term survival was encouraging but warned that deeper issues remain.

“It is encouraging to see that one-year cancer survival has returned to pre-pandemic levels,” he said.

“However, overall survival rates are similar to those seen in the middle of the last decade, and long-standing inequalities between the most and least deprived areas have persisted and, in some cases, widened.”

He emphasised the importance of early diagnosis in improving outcomes and urged people to seek medical advice if they experience symptoms such as unexplained weight loss, persistent coughs or unusual lumps.

Screening programmes

Professor Huws also encouraged uptake of screening programmes, including breast, bowel and cervical screening, which can detect cancer earlier or prevent it altogether.

Public health officials say lifestyle changes could also play a role, with up to four in ten cancers considered preventable through measures such as stopping smoking, maintaining a healthy weight and reducing alcohol consumption.