Case-mix Adjusted Percentage of Cancers Diagnosed at Stages 1 and 2 by ICB in England, 2022

Table 1 lists the unadjusted percentage of cancers diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 by cancer group in 2022. Of the cancer groups listed, the percentage of cases diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 ranged from 19% (oesophagus) to 90% (testes).

The percentage of cancers diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 may vary by cancer group for several reasons. These reasons include: patient awareness and recognition of symptoms, the ease of diagnosis of the symptoms by healthcare practitioners (cancers with non-specific symptoms can be harder to diagnose), how fast the cancer spreads and develops and variation by other case-mix factors. 

Table 1. Unadjusted percentage of cancers diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 by cancer group (2022) 

All stageable cancer groups are included within this section; this includes the 16 cancer groups in Table 1 plus ‘other’ stageable cancer groups defined according to the United Kingdom and Ireland Association of Cancer Registries (UKIACR). The denominator is the total number of cancers diagnosed with a valid stage. 

Table 2 shows that the unadjusted percentage of cancers diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 varies by deprivation quintile for England. In 2022, the percentage of cancers diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 in the 20% most deprived areas of England is 8 percentage points lower than for those in the 20% least deprived areas (51% versus 59%), this is significantly lower. 

Table 2. Unadjusted percentage of cancers diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 by deprivation (2022)

Table 3 shows that of the 16 cancer groups investigated, 7 had a significantly lower percentage of cancers diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 in the 20% most deprived areas compared to those in the 20% least deprived areas and 7 cancer groups had no significant difference. The only 2 cancer groups to have a higher proportion of cancers diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 in the 20% most deprived areas compared to those in the 20% least deprived areas were lung and ovarian cancer.

Table 3. Unadjusted percentage of cancers diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 by cancer group and deprivation (2022).  The denominator is the total number of cancers diagnosed with a valid stage.