The risk of dying from cancer has declined in recent years within the EU. This is true if we take into account the age structure of the population, scientists writing in the journal ‘Annals of Oncology’.

Older people have a higher risk of cancer, and the citizens of the EU are getting older.

Particularly significant declines in the age-standardized mortality rate a forecast of the physicians in men and for stomach cancer and leukaemia, in women for ovarian cancer and also leukemia.

More women die of lung cancer

However, two negative Trends can be observed: the number of women who die of lung cancer in Europe, to take still.

In addition, Poland was the only country in the EU, where the death is not the event rate due to prostate cancer, but in fact significantly increases.

Since 2011, an international Team led by epidemiologist Carlo La Vecchia, of Milan University of the studies to the EU published-wide cancer mortality.

Based on data from the world health organization, the researchers create forecasts for the current year, as well as comparative tables for the past years and for the whole of the EU as well as in Detail for each of the six most populous member States Germany, France, great Britain, Italy, Poland and Spain.

Overall, the result of the study, will drop the number of men who die of cancer in 2020 compared to 2015 age-adjusted by five per cent and for women by four percent.

The absolute number of deaths due to cancer would be in 2020, 1.4 million (798.700 men and 630.100 women), almost 65,000 more than in 2015, which is due to the fact of Europe’s ageing populations.

In Germany, the forecast of the scientist, would be in 2020 probably die 132.400 men and 110,000 women with cancer: men, especially of the lungs (28.700) and prostate cancer (15.500), women breast (18.900) and lung cancer (18.100).

Tobacco-Related Cancers

“In the EU as a whole, the cancer death rates are declining in men. More than half of these rates due to declining mortality due to tobacco-related cancers,” concludes medical professionals La Vecchia.

This includes not only lung cancer that accounts for about a third of the decline, but also cancers of the head and neck belong to area as well as cancer of the bladder: “in other words, it is due to the fact that for several decades, becoming less and less European men smoke.”

For Germany, the researchers predict that the age is going to decrease the death-adjusted rate for men with lung cancer by almost eleven percent.

Otherwise, however, the women Here will even come to an almost five percent increase – to observe a Trend that the EU is.

La Vecchia says: “The mortality rates due to lung cancer in women in the EU has increased in the last ten years continuing, although the rate of increase is slowing down now.”

His Co-author Eva Negri adds: “tobacco is the main cause of cancer mortality in Europe and accounts for about 20 percent of all projected cancer-related deaths.”

The significant decline in deaths among men compared to women reflects the differences in previous Smoking habits between the two sexes, the Pharmacologist of the University of Milan.

Prostate cancer in focus

The Report takes every year a different type of tumour in the focus, in this year of prostate cancer. That would die in this year, the 78,800 th men, the scientists say.

The are almost 4000 more than in 2015, in what contexts, but that the EU population has become older.

Account is taken of this fact in the calculations, the mortality in this period fell by seven percent. In Germany, the 2020 cases, with about 15,500 deaths are expected as a result of prostate cancer.

The mortality event risk for this tumor type in Europe, the lead researcher on the current Operations and therapy techniques.

“This can have, although there is no cure, a relevant impact on mortality in prostate cancer as a part of the older men could survive long enough to die of other causes,” explains epidemiologist La Vecchia in a study published communication.

Here, however, there is one exception: In Poland, the death rate for this type of cancer will rise compared to 2015 in this year of 18 per cent and, although this was between 1970 and 1974 in Europe the lowest.

For La Vecchia is hard to explain. “It is possible that the recent relatively high Rates are a result of the delayed introduction of modern diagnostics and treatments,” he estimates.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa)

*The post “Medical progress: cancer mortality is falling in Europe – with two exceptions,” is published by FitForFun. Contact with the executives here.