Canada has high ranking in survival for 4 cancers

TORONTO - A comparison of cancer survival rates in six developed countries puts Canada in the top three alongside Australia and Sweden, and ahead of Norway, Denmark and the U.K.

The study, initiated in the United Kingdom and published online Tuesday in The Lancet, examined survival rates for breast, lung, colorectal and ovarian cancer in 12 jurisdictions in the six countries.

"The main reason to look at these countries in relation to us is that they're countries of comparable wealth and very good quality information on cancer incidence, mortality and survival," said Terrence Sullivan, president and CEO of Cancer Care Ontario.

"The value for us is really to see how we're doing as a benchmark with the other jurisdictions."

Altogether, the study involved data for 2.4 million adults diagnosed with primary cancer from 1995 to 2007. The four Canadian provinces that provided information were Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario.

Senior author Dr. Heather Bryant described the findings as good news for Canadians.

"What's been found is there really is a difference across the countries, and that Canada and Australia and Sweden really came out faring the best for five-year survival, which of course is very good news for cancer patients here."

via ca.news.yahoo.com