Experts join to tackle Yorkshire's biggest cancer killer

It comes as leading figures in the field meet for a second day in Yorkshire to draw up a strategy to tackle a “North-South divide” in cancer outcomes.

The ‘cancer taskforce’ for Yorkshire has been brought together by the charity Yorkshire Cancer Research, which has set itself the ambitious targets of spending £10m a year on research and avoiding 2,000 premature deaths annually by 2025.

Hull has the worst incidence and outcomes for lung cancer in the region and among the worst in the country, with 137 cases/100,000 people, against a national average of 83 cases/100,000. Alarmingly 44 per cent of cases are only diagnosed when people attendthe city’s A&E department.

It is the most common cancer in Yorkshire, with around 4,500 people diagnosed with the disease every year and 15 out of its 21 Clinical Commissioning Groups had incidence rates higher than the national average in 2013.

But yesterday it emerged that spending on smoking and tobacco control could be cut in Hull by £43,000 from £993,000 to £950,000 following an expected 10 per cent cut to the public health budget.

The charity’s chief executive Charles Rowett said it was “disappointing”. He said: “Hull is up there as one of the worst places in the country for lung cancer; 86 per cent is related to smoking and we have a much greater incidence of smoking in Yorkshire than in most other places. We have this extraordinary problem with a cause which is almost entirely preventable.”

Mr Rowett said there was a feeling that “the easy wins had been had” but there were still high levels of smoking in cities with high levels of social deprivation.

He added: “If we were to lose the cessation services it would be devastating because there is something like a 76 per cent success rate.”

Today the workshop concentrates on early diagnosis, which is key to helping more people survive.

Professor Una Macleod, Professor of Primary Care Medicine at the Hull York Medical School, said there was evidence that some smokers put up with symptoms because of the stigma attached to smoking and fear health professionals would tell them off.

She added: “The main reason lung cancer is such a killer is because many people are diagnosed when the disease is too advanced for there to be radical treatment through surgery.”

The experts will discuss practical ideas and solutions that will save lives. The results of the meeting will be used to steer the charity’s spending during 2016.

Yorkshire has the third highest cancer incidence rates in England. Survival rates for many of the most common cancers are below the national average. YCR says more investment is needed to close the gap between cancer outcomes in Yorkshire and the rest of the country.

Prof Macleod said: “I think it is very exciting that YCR has committed to lung cancer - that in itself is fairly uncommon. There have been huge amounts of research spending on breast cancer over 30 to 40 years and breast cancer survival rates have improved dramatically.

“There has been a lot less spending on lung cancer research which has beeen a bit of a Cinderella.”

Hull Council said they had not finalised where the cuts would fall and they would have to be ratified by full council.