ALMOST 1,000 deaths from advanced breast cancer could be prevented each year if England’s survival rates matched those in Norway and Sweden, research showed today.

A total of 957 deaths could be avoided among English women whose cancer is diagnosed too late, a study found. In comparison with Norway and Sweden, the excess death rate in England “was particularly pronounced in the first month and in the first year after diagnosis, and generally more marked in the oldest age groups,” researchers found.

Compared with Norwegian patients, 81% of avoidable deaths in English patients occurred in the first two years after diagnosis. “Our findings emphasise the importance of awareness of symptoms and early detection as the main strategy to improve breast cancer survival in the UK,” the experts said.

They looked at breast cancer cases for women diagnosed between 1996 and 2004 from the three countries.

This included 303,657 English cases, 24,919 Norwegian cases, and 57,512 cases from Sweden.

The experts said that when breast cancer is caught early, treatment is often milder and more effective.

So poor survival rates in the first year or so after diagnosis highlights the issue of late diagnosis.