Monitoring the evolution of the cancer burden in Europe is of great value. Estimates
of the cancer burden in Europe have been published for 2004 and estimates are now
being presented for cancer incidence and mortality in Europe for 2006.
The most recent sources of cancer incidence and mortality data have been collected
and projections have been carried out using short-term prediction methods to produce
estimated rates for 2006. Additional estimation was required where national incidence
data were not available, and the method involved the projection of the aggregations
of cancer incidence and mortality data from representative cancer registries. The
estimated 2006 rates were applied to the corresponding estimated country population
to obtain the best estimates of the cancer incidence and mortality in Europe in 2006.
In 2006 in Europe, there were an estimated 3,191,600 cancer cases diagnosed (excluding
nonmelanoma skin cancers) and 1,703,000 deaths from cancer. The most common form of
cancers was breast cancer (429,900 cases, 13.5% of all cancer cases), followed by
colorectal cancers (412,900, 12.9%) and lung cancer (386,300, 12.1%). Lung cancer,
with an estimated 334,800 deaths (19.7% of total), was the most common cause of death
from cancer, followed by colorectal (207,400 deaths), breast (131,900) and stomach
(118,200) cancers.
The total number of new cases of cancer in Europe appears to have increased by 300,000
since 2004. With an estimated 3.2 million new cases (53% occurring in men, 47% in
women) and 1.7 million deaths (56% in men, 44% in women) each year, cancer remains
an important public health problem in Europe and the ageing of the European population
will cause these numbers to continue to increase even if age-specific rates remain
constant. Evidence-based public health measures exist to reduce the mortality of breast
and colorectal cancer while the incidence of lung cancer, and several other forms
of cancer, could be diminished by improved tobacco control.