Top 10 countries for surviving certain cancers

The US, Australia, Canada, France and Japan had the highest five-year survival rates, while Algeria had the worst, Lancet Oncology reported.

Spending on health care was a major factor, the study of 31 countries said.

Researchers said higher spending often meant quicker access to tests and treatment.

Canada ranked second overall in patient survival for breast cancer, third for prostate and for colorectal cancer in women, and sixth for colorectal cancer in men, says the study, published online and in the August edition of The Lancet Oncology.

"Canada is an interesting example," said principal author Dr. Michel Coleman, a professor of epidemiology and vital statistics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

"What we think is quite striking is that for all of these cancers, the survival in Canada is high and pretty uniform," he said. "There isn't much difference between the Canadian provinces."

The study included data from cancer registries in British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Nova Scotia, representing 58 per cent of Canada's population.

"My interpretation of that, and it may be wrong, is that it suggests fairly uniform access to a high standard of health care," Coleman said Wednesday from Bulgaria, where he was vacationing. "Because it's not just that the survival is pretty similar; it's that it's pretty high on a global scale."