THE CANCER death rate in the St Helens and Knowsley health zone is the seventh highest in the country.

That's the bleak reading in a report pointing up a significant North-South divide both in the mortality rate and the treatment of cancer patients.

MPs believe the number of deaths is higher in northern areas because the cancer of patients living in poor areas is likely to be more advanced when diagnosed.

Local health leaders have responded by saying one major reason behind the death rate is the high number of smokers in our area.

The report by the public accounts committee says the NHS must tackle the "underlying reasons behind the health-divide".

Edward Leigh MP, committee chairman, said: "It is simply unacceptable that there are postcode lotteries for prescription of anti-cancer drugs, waiting times for scans, and even chemotherapy treatments.

"The Department and the NHS need to identify exactly where there are such inequities, understand the reasons behind them, and address

them without delay."

In St Helens and Knowsley, according to mortality rates from between 1998 and 2000, 160 people per 100,000 of the population died from cancer.

Manchester had the highest mortality rate, Liverpool was second, and the remainder of the top ten were all northern areas.

But the majority of areas with the lowest death rates are in the South, with Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster having the lowest rate at 100 deaths per 100,000.

A joint statement from St Helens and Knowsley NHS trust, and both boroughs' primary care trusts read: "We have got quality cancer care services across Merseyside so the fact that the North has high rates of cancer mortality is not because of poor services. Hospitals are required to see patients who have possible cancer symptoms within two weeks of being urgently referred by their GP.

"A major reason for the high rates of cancer in St Helens and Knowsley appears to be the high rates of smoking.

"It is known that the main factors affecting cancer rates are smoking and diet. Both primary care trusts are helping people to make healthier choices by giving up smoking, taking more exercise and eating healthier so they can help reduce the risk of developing cancer in the first place.

"It is also very important for patients to get symptoms checked out with their GP at the earliest possible opportunity. This will also help reduce mortality rates."

Examining the treatment of cancer at a national level, the public accounts committee reports says the NHS has done much to improve the quality of cancer treatment through targets for urgent referral of those with suspected cancer are being met.

But it adds that patients' waits for diagnostic services such as colonoscopies and scans are often too long, the "postcode lottery" for chemotherapy treatment has yet to be tackled decisively, and waiting times for radiotherapy treatment are too long.