Postcode lottery fear over prostate cancer

Men with prostate cancer could double their chances of beating the illness by moving to another neighbourhood, new figures show.

Statistics expose huge variations in survival rates from the disease from one area to another.

Men who live in Brent and Harrow are twice as likely to survive as those in East Kent. The findings will fuel the debate over the best way to treat the disease - with some doctors favouring surgery and others radiotherapy. A third group say the cancer is best left alone.

Campaigners say some hospitals are still producing better results than others and urged doctors to help men make fully informed choices about treatment options.

Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer, affecting 27,000 men a year - 25 per cent more than five years ago.

It strikes almost as many people as breast cancer but attracts far less funding. New figures for London and the South-East released by the Prostate Cancer Charity today, show that incidence rates of the disease are lowest in Hounslow, where it strikes 61 out of every 100,000 men.

They are highest in West Sussex, where 140 out of every 100,000 men are diagnosed each year.

Across London and the South-East, an average of 64 per cent of those diagnosed with the disease are still alive five years later.

But survival rates vary almost as dramatically as incidence rates, with men in Brent and Harrow having the best chance. About 80 per cent of those diagnosed in this area are still alive five years later.

Survival rates are also exceptionally high in Camden and Islington, where around three quarters of patients beat the disease.

However, in East Kent, survival rates slump to about 40 per cent.

Dr Chris Hiley, of the Prostate Cancer Charity, said: "London is not a bad place to have prostate cancer, as there is good access to the latest treatment. But there is no doubt some hospitals are still getting better results than others."

She stressed that the actual number of men developing the disease in each area is small - meaning the variations in survival rates from one area to another were not as big as they might sound.

Prostate cancer usually affects men over the age of 50. High-profile victims include comedian Bob Monkhouse, who died from the illness at the end of last year; actor Robert De Niro, and US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Some men may be more vulnerable than others due to genetic factors, but experts are divided over treatment. If the patient is diagnosed early, removal of the walnutsized prostate gland is usually doctors' first choice. But surgery can lead to impotence and incontinence, encouraging some men to opt for radiotherapy instead.

Because prostate cancer often progresses very slowly, without any symptoms, some specialists believe "active monitoring" is best.