IRISH men are statistically more likely to get cancer to and to die from the disease than their female counterparts, according to the latest study from the National Cancer Registry.
The NCRI published its annual report on Tuesday, which noted that around 9,000 deaths from cancer currently occurs each year, as well as almost 25,000 annually diagnoses of the disease.
An estimated 12,769 males and 11,120 females are diagnosed with an invasive cancer each year. The age-adjusted risk of developing cancer was about 22% higher for men than women overall (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers), and also higher for most cancer types, according to the The Journal.
The Irish Cancer Society (ICS) said they were concerned by the figures, noting that the mortality rates indicate the risk of dying from cancer was roughly 32% higher for men than for women.
Men have fairly high survival rates for diseases like prostate and testicular cancer, but figures drop when they got common cancers that both men and women can have, like lung, bowel and skin cancer.
"It is vital that we all take collective action on it," said Conal Buggy, head of services for the ICS.
"Men’s health needs a renewed focus and funding by the State for cancer prevention programmes. We also need further research into what the barriers are for men when it comes to choosing healthy behaviours or accessing healthcare and screening."
Survival rates for Irish cancer patients continue to improve and these improvements are seen in most types of cancer.
There were an estimated 180,000 people living after a diagnosis of invasive cancer other than non- melanoma skin cancer at the end of 2017. This figure is equivalent to 3.8% of the Irish population, and is likely to reach 200,000 by 2020.
The NCRI say that while rising survival rates are being put down to improvements in treatment, early detection of the disease, is also a significant contributor.
