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Breast Cancer

Asked by Mrs Sharon HodgsonLabourDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 7 February 2025UIN 27847

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department collects data on the number of people who (a) have been diagnosed with secondary breast cancer after finishing hormone therapy and (b) are living with secondary breast cancer.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne

The National Disease Registration Service within NHS England, as the national cancer registry, collects diagnosis and treatment data on cancer patients in England.

Using the data behind the Accredited Official Statistics on Cancer Registrations combined with Cancer Waiting Times data, there were 15,739 patients alive with metastatic breast cancer on 1 January 2023, which is the most recent estimation point available.

This estimate includes patients diagnosed with metastatic, or stage four, breast cancer, as well as breast cancer patients who were diagnosed at stages one, two, or three and who have had a referral for metastatic treatment or palliative care.

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