Women’s changing lifestyles have been blamed for making breast cancer the most common form of the disease in the UK.

Cancer experts say the fall in male smoking coupled with the number of women having children later in life has led to breast cancer becoming more common than lung cancer. Increasing female obesity is also said to have contributed to the increase.

There are now an estimated 39,500 new cases of breast cancer every year, compared with about 38,900 new cases of lung cancer. The number of breast cancer cases has been steadily rising for the last 30 years.

But doctors are puzzled by the increases given that, apart from a few isolated male cases, the disease affects only women.

Sir Paul Nurse, director general of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, said: “More British women are choosing to have their children later in life and doctors are reporting an increase in obesity. In post-menopausal women this is a risk factor. Breast cancer, like most cancers, is largely a disease of older age, with around 80 per cent occurring in post menopausal women. Lung cancer, however, is generally a consequence of smoking, with 80-90 per cent of cases related to tobacco.”

The good news was that despite the large number of new cases, survival rates had improved greatly. More than 70 per cent of breast cancers are now successfully treated.

Professor Gordon McVie, director general of the Cancer Research Campaign, said the figures masked a north-south divide.

The disease was more common in the affluent south, while lung cancer still dominated in Scotland and the far north of England.

Prof McVie said: “Women didn’t take up smoking in large numbers until the 1960s and, because lung cancer takes 20 to 30 years to develop, we’re only now seeing its deadly impact.”

Breakthrough Breast Cancer chief executive Delyth Morgan said: “Women are so concerned about the occurrence of breast cancer that it is their number one health concern, according to a recent Gallup survey undertaken by Breakthrough and Avon Cosmetics.

“More resources need to be poured into research to help women take steps to prevent breast cancer.”

Written by Gethin Chamberlain for the The Scotsman, and published on DrKelley.info, November 6, 2001. Embedded links may no longer be active (Ed. 12.28.10)

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