(2) what the timeframe is for evaluating and agreeing models that collect data on prevalence of people with breast cancer from black, Asian and other minority ethnic backgrounds; and if he will make a statement.
Incidence and mortality data are already collected for all patients with cancer, and compiled through the regional cancer registries. The National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) has cross-linked the most recent 10 years of complete data from hospital episode statistics (HES) to cancer registry data, which has enabled ethnicity data from HES to be assigned to cancer registry records. Using this linked repository, the NCIN will publish its first report on cancer incidence and mortality in relation to ethnicity in 2009.
The NCIN, working with Macmillan and the Thames Cancer Registry, published preliminary figures on cancer prevalence in July 2008 and a full report is due to be published in January 2009. Work to publish figures on prevalence by ethnicity will follow the NCIN report on cancer incidence and mortality in relation to ethnicity.