Cancer cases rise by almost 15% after falling in first year of Covid pandemic

Cancer cases in Scotland rose by almost 15% in a year, after falling in the first year of the Covid pandemic, new figures showed.

There were 35,379 new cases of cancer detected in Scotland in 2021 – with the data also showing the overall risk of developing cancer was 30% higher in the most deprived parts of the country than it was in the least deprived areas.

Cancer cases were 14.6% higher than they had been in 2020, with a fall in the numbers then “largely due to under-diagnosis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions”, which included the temporary halting of some cancer screening programmes.

But Public Health Scotland said: “Given the subsequent rise in incidence, this does not appear to have been an issue in 2021.”

Cancer cases for 2021 were 5.5% higher than they had been prior to the pandemic in 2019.

The most recent figures showed slightly more cases amongst females than males, with 17,779 women diagnosed with the disease compared to 17,600 men.

The most common cancers in Scotland in 2021 were lung, breast, bowel and prostate, with these together accounting for more than half (54%) of all cases.

The report said: “While welcome reductions in smoking prevalence have occurred in Scotland, there remains considerable potential to prevent cancers through further reductions in smoking, reducing overweight and obesity, improving diet and reducing alcohol consumption.”

Lung cancer remained the most common cancer overall, with 5,476 cases diagnosed in 2021. This accounted for 15.5% of all cancers in Scotland, with more cases of lung cancer found in females than in males.

The data also showed 5,180 cases of breast cancer in 2021 – 14.6% of all cancers, with all but 37 cases occurring in females.

Meanwhile, there were 4,279 cases of bowel cancer and 4,265 cases of prostate cancer in 2021 – with both these forms of the disease each making up 12.1% of all cancers diagnose that year.

More than three quarters (77%) of those diagnosed with cancer in 2021 were aged 60 or over.

Currently, it is estimated that two in five (40%) people in Scotland will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in their life – though this includes some cancers that may have no detrimental impact on life expectancy, such as slow-growing prostate tumours.

With Public Health Scotland finding the overall risk of developing cancer to be 30% higher in the most deprived areas, the report explained that while the issue of under-diagnosis had “largely been resolved” by 2021 in more deprived areas “there was evidence of this persisting to some extent for certain cancer types”, such as breast, cervical and bowel cancer.

Cervical cancer was nearly twice as commonly diagnosed in the most deprived parts of the country  compared with the least deprived areas in 2021, the report revealed.

It added that prostate cancer was more commonly diagnosed in the least deprived areas, which “may be due to their greater use of PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) testing”.

The report added: “As a result, a higher proportion of prostate cancers diagnosed in the most deprived areas were late stage, compared with in the least deprived areas.”

Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “This damning report reveals the damage done by the SNP’s shameful failure to protect cancer services from the chaos of the pandemic.

“These stark inequalities are a national scandal and show the poorest communities are paying the harshest price for the SNP’s failure.

“As cancer cases soared waiting times have stretched, putting lives at risk.

“Humza Yousaf cannot walk away from his failures as Health Secretary – as First Minister he must take responsibility for getting cancer services back on track.”

Stephanie Sinclair, science communications manager at Worldwide Cancer Research said: “It’s worrying to see the rate of cancer diagnosis in Scotland increase above and beyond pre-pandemic levels, with a ‘rebound’ effect from the pandemic that many suspected would appear.

“Sadly, cancer is expected to be the leading cause of death worldwide by 2030, so this news only emphasises the need for people to be aware of the symptoms of cancer. It also shows that we need to continue to invest in cutting-edge research.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The earlier cancer is diagnosed the easier it is to treat. This is why we continue to invest in our Detect Cancer Earlier (DCE) Programme, which adopts a whole systems approach to diagnosing and treating cancer as early as possible.

“Public awareness campaigns and messaging have run throughout the pandemic to encourage those with possible cancer symptoms to seek help.

“A new DCE public awareness campaign, ‘Be the Early Bird’, encouraging people with possible symptoms to act early, was launched earlier this month. This campaign has targeted areas of deprivation to reduce the inequalities gap.”

The spokesperson continued: “We are also committed to ensuring equitable access to early diagnosis which is why we continue to invest in our Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services across Scotland, with three live and a further two coming on stream in the next few weeks.

“A new Earlier Diagnosis Vision will be developed as part of the new Scottish Government 10-year Cancer Strategy, with publication planned in spring 2023.

“The new strategy will take a comprehensive approach to improving patient pathways from prevention and diagnosis through to treatment and post-treatment care.

“We remain committed to ensuring equitable access to cancer care across Scotland, through our ongoing ‘Once for Scotland’ approach.”