Each year in Ireland almost 3,500 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer. It accounts for almost 30% of all newly diagnosed cases of cancer in men.1 Compared to the European average of estimated prostate cancer of 153.9 per 100,000, the incidence rate in Ireland is significantly higher at 197.1.2 The number of cases first presenting asymptomatically via screening (PSA test) continues to rise, while the number of men presenting with symptoms has remained largely unchanged.3
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1 National Cancer Registry Ireland. Cancer Factsheet – Prostate. 2018. Accessible at https://www.ncri.ie/sites/ncri/files/factsheets/Factsheet%20prostate.pdf (last accessed March 2022)
2 European Cancer Information System (ECIS). Estimates of cancer incidence and mortality in 2020. Accessible at https://ecis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/explorer.php?$0-0$1-All$2-All$4-1$3-34$6-0,85$5-2008,2008$7-7$CEstByCountry$X0_8-3$X0_19-AE27$X0_20-No$CEstBySexByCountry$X1_8-3$X1_19-AE27$X1_-1-1$CEstByIndiByCountry$X2_8-3$X2_19-AE27$X2_20-No$CEstRelative$X3_8-3$X3_9-AE27$X3_19-AE27$CEstByCountryTable$X4_19-AE27 (last accessed March 2022)
3 National Cancer Registry Ireland. Cancer Trends. November 2016. Accessible at https://www.ncri.ie/sites/ncri/files/pubs/prostateTrends2016.pdf (last accessed March 2022)
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European Cancer Information System (ECIS). Estimates of cancer incidence and mortality in 2020. Accessible at https://ecis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/explorer.php?$0-0$1-All$2-All$4-1$3-34$6-0,85$5-2008,2008$7-8$CEstByCountry$X0_8-3$X0_19-AE27$X0_20-No$CEstBySexByCountry$X1_8-3$X1_19-AE27$X1_-1-1$CEstByIndiByCountry$X2_8-3$X2_19-AE27$X2_20-No$CEstRelative$X3_8-3$X3_9-AE27$X3_19-AE27$CEstByCountryTable$X4_19-AE27 (last accessed March 2022)
In Ireland, the estimated mortality for prostate cancer is 24.9 per 100,000, which is lower than the EU27 average of 32.1 per 100,000.1 From 2014 to 2016, prostate cancer accounted for 525 deaths annually, making it the third most common cause of cancer death (just over 11 percent of the total cancer mortality).2
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1 European Cancer Information System (ECIS). Estimates of cancer incidence and mortality in 2020. Accessible at https://ecis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/explorer.php?$0-0$1-All$2-All$4-1$3-34$6-0,85$5-2008,2008$7-8$CEstByCountry$X0_8-3$X0_19-AE27$X0_20-No$CEstBySexByCountry$X1_8-3$X1_19-AE27$X1_-1-1$CEstByIndiByCountry$X2_8-3$X2_19-AE27$X2_20-No$CEstRelative$X3_8-3$X3_9-AE27$X3_19-AE27$CEstByCountryTable$X4_19-AE27 (last accessed March 2022)
2 Lynch, P. Prostate cancer – the Irish picture. November 2019. Accessible at https://www.medicalindependent.ie/prostate-cancer-the-irish-picture/ (last accessed March 2022)
Links to external websites are provided as a resource to the viewer. We accept no responsibility for the content or services of the linked site other than the information or other materials provided or reviewed by the LTPC expert group members
European Cancer Information System (ECIS). Estimates of cancer incidence and mortality in 2020. Accessible at https://ecis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/explorer.php?$0-0$1-All$2-All$4-1$3-34$6-0,85$5-2008,2008$7-8$CEstByCountry$X0_8-3$X0_19-AE27$X0_20-No$CEstBySexByCountry$X1_8-3$X1_19-AE27$X1_-1-1$CEstByIndiByCountry$X2_8-3$X2_19-AE27$X2_20-No$CEstRelative$X3_8-3$X3_9-AE27$X3_19-AE27$CEstByCountryTable$X4_19-AE27 (last accessed March 2022)
Links to external websites are provided as a resource to the viewer. We accept no responsibility for the content or services of the linked site other than the information or other materials provided or reviewed by the LTPC expert group members
1 Hofmarcher, T et al. Comparator Report on Cancer in Europe in 2019. IHE Report 2019:7. Accessible at https://www.efpia.eu/publications/cancer-comparator-report/cancer-types/prostate-cancer/ (last accessed March 2022)
Links to external websites are provided as a resource to the viewer. We accept no responsibility for the content or services of the linked site other than the information or other materials provided or reviewed by the LTPC expert group members
Hofmarcher, T et al. Comparator Report on Cancer in Europe in 2019. IHE Report 2019:7. Accessible at https://www.efpia.eu/publications/cancer-comparator-report/cancer-types/prostate-cancer/ (last accessed March 2022)
Ireland’s current National Cancer Strategy runs from 2017 – 2026. It aims to meet the needs of cancer patients in Ireland for the next decade, with Cancer prevention will be a cornerstone of this Cancer Strategy as it offers the most cost-effective, long-term approach for cancer control. There are numerous references to prostate cancer within the document.
Analysis of the political profile of prostate cancer in Ireland shows that it does not receive the attention that would be expected given the scale and impact of the disease. Between 1 January 2020 and 16 July 2021, prostate cancer was significantly less featured in political activity than other comparable cancers. While 31 parliamentary questions were asked on breast cancer, just 12 were asked on prostate cancer.
The Department of Health published the National Clinical Guideline for the Diagnosis, Staging and Treatment of Prostate Cancer in 2015. The aim of the series of National Clinical Guidelines is to provide guidance and standards for improving the quality, safety and cost-effectiveness of healthcare in Ireland. The recommended care pathway, includes patient access to*:
Legend:
Recommendation included
Recommendation not included
Access to Specialists
Ireland comes bottom of the table of EU countries with the least number of urologists per population. In Ireland, you can find 173,913 inhabitants to every 1 urologist.1 At the other end of the scale, Greece has the highest number of urologists per inhabitant with 10,000 citizens to every urologist.2 To note is that national data can in some instances deviate from international datasets. According to the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the ratio of urologists to patients in Ireland is 1 citizen to every 127,027 inhabitants.3
Links to external websites are provided as a resource to the viewer. We accept no responsibility for the content or services of the linked site other than the information or other materials provided or reviewed by the LTPC expert group members
1 European Society of Residents in Urology (ESRU). Ireland. March 2018. Accessible at https://esru.eu/?q=ireland (last accessed March 2022)
2 European Society of Residents in Urology (ESRU). Greece. March 2018. Accessible at https://esru.eu/?q=greece (last accessed March 2022)
3 National Clinical Programme in Surgery and Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Urology: A model of care for Ireland. 2019
Cost of cancer
The direct cost of cancer care and treatment in Ireland per person is €234,1 which is above the European average of €154 per person.2 Whilst a number of factors contribute to improved outcomes for those affected by prostate cancer, studies have shown that those countries that invest more in cancer care tend to achieve better outcomes for patients.3
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1 Hofmarcher, T et al. Comparator Report on Cancer in Europe in 2019. IHE Report 2019:7. Accessible at https://www.efpia.eu/publications/cancer-comparator-report/cancer-types/prostate-cancer/ (last accessed March 2022)
2 Hofmarcher, T et al. Comparator Report on Cancer in Europe in 2019. IHE Report 2019:7. Accessible at https://www.efpia.eu/publications/cancer-comparator-report/cancer-types/prostate-cancer/ (last accessed March 2022) – average calculated from data included for individual countries.
3 Hofmarcher, T et al. Comparator Report on Cancer in Europe in 2019. IHE Report 2019:7
Links to external websites are provided as a resource to the viewer. We accept no responsibility for the content or services of the linked site other than the information or other materials provided or reviewed by the LTPC expert group members
1 Hofmarcher, T et al. Comparator Report on Cancer in Europe in 2019. IHE Report 2019:7. Accessible at https://www.efpia.eu/publications/cancer-comparator-report/cancer-types/prostate-cancer/ (last accessed March 2022)
Links to external websites are provided as a resource to the viewer. We accept no responsibility for the content or services of the linked site other than the information or other materials provided or reviewed by the LTPC expert group members
*Different data sources were used for Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Romania and the UK, which may use data from different years. See references below. No data was found for Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta and Slovakia.
European Society of Residents in Urology (ESRU). Countries. March 2018. Accessible at https://esru.eu/?q=countries (last accessed March 2022)
Federal Public Service of Public Health, Safety of the Food Chain and the Environment. HWF STATAN 2019 (detailed statistics). 2019. Accessible at https://organesdeconcertation.sante.belgique.be/fr/documents/hwf-statan-2019-statistiques-detaillees (last accessed March 2022)
Boszormenyi-Nagy, G. Report on urological inpatient care based on 2018 data. Urologia Hungarica. Accessible at http://urologiahungarica.hu/index.php/2020/05/12/beszamolo-az-urologiai-fekvobeteg-ellatasrol-a-2018-as-adatok-alapjan/ (last accessed March 2022)
I.Stat. Personale sanitario. Accessible at http://dati.istat.it/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=DCIS_PERS_SANIT (last accessed March 2022)
Institutul National De Statistica. Activitatea Unitatilor Sanitare in Anul 2019. 2020. Accessible at https://insse.ro/cms/sites/default/files/field/publicatii/activitatea_unitatilor_sanitare_anul_2019.pdf (last accessed March 2022)
United Nations, Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. World Population Prospects 2019. Accessible at https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Files/1_Indicators%20(Standard)/EXCEL_FILES/1_Population/
WPP2019_POP_F01_1_TOTAL_POPULATION_BOTH_SEXES.xlsx (last accessed March 2022)
British Association of Urological Surgeons and The Specialist Advisory Committee in Urology. Workforce Report. 2018. Accessible at https://www.baus.org.uk/_userfiles/pages/files/publications/
Workforce_Report_Sep%202018%20ver%201.1.pdf (last accessed March 2022)
Links to external websites are provided as a resource to the viewer. We accept no responsibility for the content or services of the linked site other than the information or other materials provided or reviewed by the LTPC expert group members
Hofmarcher, T et al. Comparator Report on Cancer in Europe in 2019. IHE Report 2019:7. Accessible at https://www.efpia.eu/publications/cancer-comparator-report/cancer-types/prostate-cancer/ (last accessed March 2022)
Links to external websites are provided as a resource to the viewer. We accept no responsibility for the content or services of the linked site other than the information or other materials provided or reviewed by the LTPC expert group members
Hofmarcher, T et al. Comparator Report on Cancer in Europe in 2019. IHE Report 2019:7. Accessible at https://www.efpia.eu/publications/cancer-comparator-report/cancer-types/prostate-cancer/ (last accessed March 2022)
Organisations supporting people with prostate cancer in Ireland include:
Men Against Cancer
https://macprostatecancersupport.ie/
Marie Keating Foundation
https://www.mariekeating.ie/
Reference Number: ONC_2021_0140_BE
Date of preparation: January 2022
