Cancer

This section contains the latest nationally published data for Wakefield from OHID Fingertips – Public Health Profiles. Cancer data, including screening, for Wakefield GP practices, Primary Care Networks and sub-Integrated Care Boards are available at OHID Fingertips GP practice cancer indicators.

Compared to England national levels, Wakefield District has…

• A higher percentage of people being screened for bowel cancer, with screening coverage of those who are eligible increasing over the last decade.
• A higher percentage of people being screened for breast cancer, however coverage of those who are eligible dropped dramatically in 2021, as did regional and national levels.
• A higher percentage of people being screened for cervical cancer in both the 25-49 and 50-64 year age groups. 
• A similar percentage of cancers being diagnosed at an earlier stage (1 and 2). 
• A similar rate of mortality due to cancer in people aged under 75 years old, however a higher rate of mortality due to cancers considered preventable in the same age group.

Cancer incidence is the number people who are diagnosed with new cases of cancer. Cancer prevalence is defined as the number of living people who have ever been diagnosed with cancer. Cancer mortality is the number of people who have died from cancer. These measures are often written as the number of cancer cases per 100,000 people in the general population and can be shown within a set time period.

Cancer registration services and data have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that the latest available data for some data sources is 2020.   

• The incidence (new cases) of all cancer in Wakefield is significantly higher than the England level (627.8 per 100,000 compared to 593.3 for 2016-20, the latest time period available); this has been the trend since 2010-2014. 
• Similarly, the incidence of trachea, bronchus and lung cancer in Wakefield is significantly higher than the England level (97.7 per 100,000 compared to 75.0 for 2016-20).
• Mortality from trachea, bronchus and lung cancer in Wakefield is significantly higher than the England level (72.6 per 100,000 compared to 52.0 for 2016-20). 

The interactive dashboard below can be used to explore the trends in cancer data over the recent years. Click on the buttons at the bottom to navigate between the different measures. Use the filters section on the left to explore the different breakdowns and time periods. Use ‘Focus Mode’ at the top right of any visualisation to expand the data.  Rates are not shown if there are fewer than 20 cases within the timeframe.  

• As part of the national NHS England Core20PLUS5 approach to inform action to reduce healthcare inequalities, there is an early cancer diagnosis ambition of 75% of cases diagnosed at stage 1 and 2 by 2028. Cancers diagnosed at stage 1 and 2 in Wakefield are similar to national levels and have remained relatively stable at around 54% since 2014-16.
• There is variation in the stages at which different cancer sites are diagnosed. Breast cancer has a higher rate of incidence than any other cancer site in women, however over 80% of cases were diagnosed at stage 1 and 2 in 2020.
• Coupled with a higher rate of incidence, only around a quarter of lung cancer cases were able to be diagnosed at stage 1 and 2 in 2020.

The interactive dashboard below can be used to explore the differences in cancer staging. Use the filter on the left to explore the different time periods. Use ‘Focus Mode’ at the top right of any visualisation to expand the data. Cancer sites are limited to where staging completeness is 90% or higher and there are 10 or more cases in a year. If a cancer is unstageable or the stage data are missing, it is deemed incomplete data.

• There is marked variation in cancer mortality rates across Wakefield District. 
• Areas in the North East and South East of the district have seen higher rates of cancer mortality over the last decade.
• The most deprived areas of the district have higher cancer mortality rates than the least deprived areas.

The interactive dashboard below can be used to explore the inequalities in cancer mortality and screening. Click on the buttons at the bottom to navigate between the different measures. Use the filters section at the top to explore the different inequalities and periods. Use ‘Focus Mode’ at the top right of any visualisation to expand the data. The chart and map are colour coded showing the comparison against the district average figure.