Prostate cancer more commonly diagnosed than breast cancer: PHE

Prostate cancer was the most common cancer diagnosis in 2018, overtaking breast cancer for the first time, according to Public Health England (PHE).

The Cancer Registration Statistics 2018, first release, published on Monday, shows that there were 7,828 more registrations of prostate cancer made in 2018 than in 2017.

The comparable figure for female breast cancer in the same period was 1,686 more registrations.

The PHE credits the ‘Fry and Turnbull effect’ for the rise in prostate cancer awareness as revelations that celebrity author Stephen Fry and former BBC journalist Bill Turnbull were afflicted with the disease encouraged more men to look for the symptoms and get checked.

The full release of the statistics is expected in Spring 2020.