As Irish society becomes more prosperous types of cancer associated with affluence are rising, new figures produced by the National Cancer Registry show.
The registry's report on Cancer in Ireland 1994-2000, which was published yesterday, revealed that new cases of conditions such as cancer of the kidney had risen by about 6 per cent.
The director of the National Cancer Registry, Dr Harry Comber, said conditions such as cancer of the kidney and lymphomas, which are also increasing, were associated with rich diets.
He said that at the same time as cancers associated with affluence were on the rise, those linked with deprivation such as cancer of the oesophagus and head and neck were on the decline.
The registry report reveals that more patients than ever are surviving cancer.
Dr Comber said there were about 110,000 cancer survivors, of which 22,000 had survived breast cancer.
He said the quality of life for such people had to be examined.
Dr Comber said the country was on schedule to meet the target of a reduction of 15 per cent in death rates from cancer in those under 65, which were set out in the Government's National Cancer Strategy.
He said it could take up to 15 years before the impact of the smoking ban in pubs was seen in the cancer rates.
The registry report reveals that the number of new cancer cases is increasing by about 2 per cent a year - although this can be attributed to a population that is both increasing and ageing.
The report points out that the underlying risk of cancer is not changing.
Dr Comber said the largest increase was in the area of prostate cancer, which was going up by 7 per cent annually.
However, he said that this acceleration in new cases was due to an increased number of men undergoing testing for the condition.
Speaking at the publication of the report yesterday, Dr Comber said that staff of the registry had been withdrawn from Beaumont Hospital due to a lack of office accommodation and this could lead to a backlog in collecting data.
A spokesman for the hospital told The Irish Times, however, that there had been a breakdown in communications
Registry staff would not be asked to vacate their office in the Dublin hospital until new premises were found.
