Unemployment and austerity 'increases cancer mortality'

Countries with universal health coverage have fewer casualties, according to Lancet study of cancer deaths

Hundreds of thousands of cancer deaths around the world may have occurred as a result of the recession of 2008, experts have said.

Unemployment and austerity were associated with more than 260,000 extra deaths of cancer patients in countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, a study has shown. Those countries with universal health coverage (UHC), such as the UK, and a record of increased public health spending, had fewer casualties.