Race divide over cancer diagnosis

AN EARLY cancer diagnosis is less likely among white people than among those from ethnic minority groups, the audit appears to show.

But last night the Department of Health said it did not think the differences were statistically significant.

The report showed that a lower percentage of white people with cancer had had it diagnosed in its early stages. Catching cancer early is vital because it is more likely to be treatable.

The figures show that for white people, 52.5 per cent of cancers are diagnosed at an early stage. This compared with 55.7 per cent for people from the Indian subcontinent, 54.0 per cent for blacks and 56.2 per cent for Chinese.