Many cancers 'are diagnosed too late'

Half of all cervical cancer cases are missed before the late stages, according to a new study.

Around a third of breast cancer sufferers in the US are diagnosed with the disease too late, meaning cancer has usually spread, reducing the chances of survival, the study by the US Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) found.

Researchers looked at the incidence rates of the major cancers in the US from 2004 to 2006.

Despite screening procedures being in place, a frightening number of cancers are not detected until the very late stages.

"This report causes concern because so many preventable cancers are not being diagnosed when treatment is most effective," said study co-author Dr Marcus Plescia, director of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control of the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

"More work is needed to widely implement evidence-based cancer screening tests which may lead to early detection and, ultimately, an increase in the number of lives saved."

According to the US National Cancer Institute, there will be an estimated 207,090 cases of breast cancer this year.

There are expected to be 13,850 deaths from ovarian cancer in the US this year, according to the charity.

Posted by Paul Robertson