Matched cohort study of cancer incidence, treatment, and survival in the prison population compared with the general population in England

A population-based, matched cohort study in England found that in 1998, male prisoners had a lower age-standardized incidence of cancer than the general population but this incidence increased so that at the end of the study period in 2017 the incidence was similar in the prison population and the general population. Between 2012 and 2017 cancer patients diagnosed in prison were less likely to undergo curative treatment than matched patients in the general popularion (OR 0.72; 95% CI 0.60-0.85) and had a significantly increased risk of death (HR 1.16; 95% CI 1.03-1.30). This association was partly explained by stratification by curative treatment and further adjustment for diagnosis route.