BTR Response to Cancer Research UK Report

Cancer death rate drops by 20 per cent over 20 years

Brain Tumour Research welcomes the improvement in cancer death rates shown in the recently released report by Cancer Research UK. This report highlights that the death rate from cancer has dropped by more than 20 per cent since the 1990s. The figures show that in 1990, 220 in every 100,000 people died of cancer, with this figure falling to 170 in 100,000 in 2011.

Cancer Research UK states that research has been “the key factor” in reducing the number of lives lost to cancer, something which highlights the need for further funding into research for cancers.

Whilst this is excellent news it is important to remember that the job is not yet done, particularly for those cancers, like brain cancer, that still have very low survival rates.

There is a need for an increase in funding into research into brain tumours from the general public, government and larger cancer charities.

Those who are diagnosed with a brain tumour and their families will in the future benefit from further research, and more funding to enable this research. With brain tumours receiving less than 1% of the national cancer research spend, despite killing more children than leukaemia or any other cancer, more men under 45 than prostate or any other cancer and more women under 35 than breast or any other cancer and a greater proportion of under 75s than any other common cancer, we need government, charities and the general public to get behind this devastating disease and give more money to research into brain tumours.

News via Brain Tumour Research