Fa. Majeed et Na. Burgess, TRENDS IN DEATH RATES AND REGISTRATION RATES FOR PROSTATE-CANCER IN ENGLAND AND WALES, British Journal of Urology, 73(4), 1994, pp. 377-381
Objective To describe trends in deaths from prostate cancer between 19
70 and 1990, and trends in registrations of prostate cancer between 19
71 and 1986. Methods Data on prostate cancer deaths and registrations
were obtained from the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, and
age specific rates were calculated. Results The number of deaths from
prostate cancer rose by 107% between 1970 and 1990, from 3906 to 8098.
The number of registrations of prostate cancer rose by 75% between 19
71 and 1986, from 5819 to 10180. Age-specific death rates and registra
tion rates also increased but by a smaller amount than the rise in abs
olute numbers. Conclusions A component of the increase seen in both th
e number of prostate cancer deaths and registrations can be explained
by a concomitant increase in the elderly male population, the group at
highest risk, but the rises seen in rates are more difficult to expla
in. The rises are likely to have had considerable implications for the
workload of urologists and should be taken into account when planning
future health services. With further increases expected over the next
decade in the elderly male population, deaths and registrations from
prostate cancer will continue to rise. Research will be required to de
termine possible reasons for the increase seen in prostate cancer rate
s over the last 20 years, to determine the true incidence and prevalen
ce of prostate cancer in the general population and to identify possib
le aetiological factors.