Michel Coleman

Michel Coleman is Professor of Epidemiology and Vital Statistics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He is one of the world's leading experts in cancer statistics and his research focuses on trends in cancer occurrence and survival. His team produces the official National Statistics on cancer survival in England. He is investigating why there are persistent inequalities in cancer survival in the UK, for example between rich and poor people, and between the UK and other European countries.

In the UK, some people are less likely to survive cancer than others, including the elderly and people who live in deprived areas. A report published by Professor Coleman and his colleagues in 2003 confirmed that the UK still had worse survival for adult cancers than many other European countries.

Professor Coleman is now carrying out a long-term study of cancer survival in the UK to explore the reasons behind these inequalities. The research team is investigating many factors to identify those with the greatest impact on cancer survival. These include clinical factors such as treatment and how advanced the cancer is at diagnosis, socio-demographic factors such as age, sex and ethnicity, and healthcare system factors such as access to hospitals and cancer specialists.

This comprehensive study will be enormously beneficial to the public health system. The results will help the Government and National Health Services to devise strategies to improve overall cancer survival in the UK and to reduce inequalities in cancer care.

Listen to an interview with Professor Coleman, where he discusses whether Britain really is the "sick man of Europe" when it comes to cancer survival: