Alcohol and rich living blamed for breast cancer toll

Britain has the 11th highest rate of breast cancer in the world, according to a global league table.

It shows that 89 women out of every 100,000 develop breast cancer each year in the UK.

Belgium has the worst record at 109 women per 100,000, while the best performing country, Bahrain, takes 50th place with just 50 per 100,000.

High: Britain has the 11th highest breast cancer rate in the world according to a new global league table

Experts say breast cancer is linked to excess body fat, alcohol consumption and lack of exercise, with wealthier countries having far higher rates than less developed nations.

The table is one of several on global cancer rates compiled by the World Cancer Research Fund charity from World Health Organisation estimates.

The UK’s place in the league table showing all cancers diagnosed in women is only one better – at number 12.

It shows that 260 British women per 100,000 get some form of cancer each year. In the worst performing country, Denmark, 325 women are diagnosed with the disease annually. Honduras has the lowest number of cases, at around 181.

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In a survey of more than 2,000 patients, those who reported high levels of ‘social wellbeing’ were 38 per cent less likely to die from the disease, and their risk of relapse was reduced by nearly half.

Researcher Dr Meira Epplein said: ‘We found that social wellbeing in the first year after cancer diagnosis is an important prognostic factor for breast cancer recurrence or death.’

All the figures are age-standardised to take into account higher rates of the disease among older women and the proportion of older people in each country.

The UK has the 22nd highest overall cancer rate of 50 nations. Denmark tops the chart, with 326 out of every 100,000 developing cancer each year, while 267 Britons get the diagnosis.

The UK is ranked 33rd in the world for cancers in men – with 280 per 100,000 diagnosed a year – compared with France and Australia which have 360 cases. Serbia has just 238 cases per 100,000 men each year.

WCRF experts say part of the reason Denmark and many other developed nations have higher cancer rates is because they have a good record of diagnosing and recording cases compared to poorer places.

But those in better-off countries are also more at risk because of lifestyle factors such as obesity and lack of exercise. In Denmark, for example, there are high rates of smoking among women and high levels of alcohol consumption.

Around 45,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed each year in Britain, but a third could be prevented with healthier lifestyles.

Previous research has suggested that 14,000 women a year would not develop the disease if they ate less, drank less alcohol and exercised more from an early age.

The latest WCRF league tables show that high-income countries generally have significantly higher cancer rates than lower-income ones.

The only non-European countries in the top 20 for overall cancer rates are Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Canada, Israel, French Polynesia and Uruguay.

Professor Martin Wiseman, medical and scientific adviser for WCRF, said: ‘The high incidence rates in the UK, Denmark and other high-income countries are not inevitable and lifestyle changes can make a real difference to people’s risk.

‘Scientists estimate that about a third of the most common cancers in the UK and other high-income countries could be prevented by maintaining a healthy weight, being more physically active and eating more healthily.’