Survival rates for people suffering from the most common forms of cancer in Scotland have increased, according to the latest NHS statistics.

The chances of male cancer patients surviving at least 12 months rose by 4%, the NHS Scotland study said.

Women were also now more likely to survive their first year of treatment with a 2.5% increase in survival.

However, Scotland continues to have one of the highest rates of cancer in Europe.

Lung cancer survival rates have improved

Overall survival rates were amongst the poorest in Europe.

The figures were for patients diagnosed with common forms of the illness between 1996 and 1998.

It compared the survival rates with the period 1991 to 1995.

Overall 56% of men and 63% of women survived for at least a year after a diagnosis of cancer.

After five years, 38% of men and 47% of women were still alive.

The report, which was produced by the health service's Information and Statistics Division (ISD), found 94% of breast cancer patients survived at least one year.

It said 79% survived at least five years, a 4% rise from the period between 1991 and 1995.

Survival rates

Of men being treated for prostate cancer, 90% survived at least one year, a 6% rise on the period before.

Almost 70% survived at least five years following diagnosis.

Survival rates for lung cancer patients remained low but were improving.

A quarter of both men and women survived for at least a year after diagnosis from 1996 to 1998, compared to 22% in the previous five years.

The five year survival rate for men fell marginally to 6.8% for men and rose slightly to 8% for women.

The Scottish Executive has set a target of reducing cancer deaths in people aged under 75 years by a fifth in the period between 1995 and 2010.

Families and friends

Meanwhile, a new centre for cancer sufferers and carers, costing almost �1m, has officially opened in Glasgow.

Scots TV personality Kirsty Wark performed the formal opening of the Maggie's centre, the second of its kind in the UK.

The facility at the city's Western Infirmary is a drop-in centre aimed at people who have cancer, their families and friends.

It enables sufferers to address all aspects of living with the disease and share their experiences with other people.

The first centre opened at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh in 1996 - the brainchild of breast cancer patient Maggie Jencks.

A third Maggie centre is to open in Dundee next summer and further facilities are planned for Inverness and Fife.