Status
Completed
Title
Analysis of survival from blood cancer in England
What were the objectives of the study?
I. To estimate the number of years of life lost due to blood cancer in England
II. To identify and measure disparities in blood cancer survival in England (by age, geographic area, gender, deprivation quintile and ethnicity)
III. To estimate potentially avoidable deaths if disparities in survival were eliminated
IV. To generate estimates of cancer survival that can be compared to survival in other UK nations (Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland)
V. To determine how/if cancer survival disparities by ethnicity differ if cancer registry data is supplemented with primary care data
VI. To compare how blood cancers are classified between primary care records (SNOMED and ICD-10 codes) and cancer registry records (ICD-10 and ICD-O codes)
Chief Investigator
Dr Diana Withrow
Lead Applicant Organisation Name
Sponsor
Oxford
Location of research
Oxford
Date on which research approved
09-Nov-2023
Project reference ID
OX333
Generic ethics approval reference
18/EM/0400
Are all data accessed are in anonymised form?
Yes
Brief summary of the dataset to be released (including any sensitive data)
GP Practice. Demographics - age, sex, ethnicity, geographical region, GP practice, cancer diagnoses.
We are requesting the full record of the mortality data (e.g., not limited to those with an EMIS record).
Yes. The cancer registry data contain data on cancer diagnoses, histological type, grade, route to diagnosis, deprivation quintile (Income Deprivation Domain, derived from the postcode of residence at diagnosis). We are requesting the full record of the cancer registry data (e.g., not limited to those with an EMIS record).
What were the main findings?
We identified 413,286 blood cancer cases. Survival in all blood cancer combined significantly improved in England (3.8%), Northern Ireland (5.1%), and Wales (3%), but not Scotland. Men had ≥3% lower survival than women in many subtypes. Older age and higher deprivation were significantly linked to lower survival. In England, white ethnic groups had ≥3% lower survival than non-white groups for myelodysplastic syndrome, myeloid malignancies, plasma cell neoplasms, myeloproliferative neoplasms. In Wales, rural areas showed ≥3% higher survival than urban and mixed regions for lymphoid malignancies, myeloid malignancies, plasma cell neoplasms, Hodgkin lymphoma, mature B-cell neoplasms, acute myeloid leukaemia.
Net survival varied markedly by subtype and demographic factors across the UK. Given possible differences in case ascertainment, findings are descriptive and hypothesis‑generating.
Funding Source
Blood Cancer UK
Public Benefit Statement
Research Team
Prof Julia Hippisley-Cox (University of Oxford)
Dr. Janice Hoang (University of Oxford)
Dr Diana Withrow (University of Oxford)
Aziz Sheikh (University of Edinburgh)
Dr Christopher Cardwell (Queen's University Belfast))
Approval Letter
Publications
-
Blood cancer survival and inequalities in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland (oral presentation)
Authors: Hoang J, Hippisley-Cox J, Sheikh A, Cardwell C, Withrow DR.
Ref:
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Disparities in blood cancer survival in the UK 2009–2019: national cohort studies
Authors: Hoang J, Allen J, Capel R, Thomas R, Smits S, Ahmed R, Webb H, Sheikh A, Cox S, Bygrave C, Hippisley-Cox J
Ref:
https://doi.org/10.1038/s44276-026-00222-0
Access Type
Trusted Research Environment (TRE)