Deaths from breast cancer have been declining steadily, with a 7% fall in rates since 2009 in the EU. "This reflects the important and accumulating advances in the treatment, as well as screening and early diagnosis, of the disease," said Prof La Vecchia.
Although lung cancer is still the main cause of cancer death among men, with nearly 187,000 deaths predicted for 2013, giving a death rate of 37.2 per 100,000 men, this represents a 6% fall since 2009.
The study looked at cancer rates in the whole of the EU (27 member states as at 2007) and also in six individual countries France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK for all cancers, and, individually, for stomach, intestine, pancreas, lung, prostate, breast, uterus (including cervix) and leukaemias. This is the third consecutive year the researchers have published predicted EU cancer deaths. Last year they predicted deaths for 2012.
The researchers focused on intestinal cancers, particularly colorectal cancers, for their 2013 predictions. They found that, overall, there has been a decline in rates of deaths from colorectal cancers in the EU. They predict there will be 87,818 deaths (16.7 per 100,000) in men and 75,059 (9.5 per 100,000) in women in 2013; this represents a fall when compared with actual death rates of 17.6 for men and 10.5 for women for the period 2005-2009.
Prof La Vecchia said: "The main reasons for the decline are improved screening and diagnosis, and improved management and treatment."
However, there are large variations between European countries. Poland and Spain have the highest rates of colorectal cancer deaths among men, with rates well above the EU average at 21.5 and 18.6 per 100,000 men respectively. Death rates among Polish women are also highe
|Contact: Emma Mason|
European Society for Medical Oncology