Lung cancer death rates will fall overall in the European Union and the United Kingdom in 2023, but will rise among women in France, Italy and Spain, a new study has predicted.
- 1,261,990 people will die of cancer in 2023 in the EU.
- There will be a 6.5% drop in cancer death rates for men and 3.7% for women between 2018 and 2023.
- Pancreatic cancer is also a cause for concern as mortality rates will not decrease in men and will increase by 3.4% in women in the EU.
A total of 1,261,990 people will die of cancer in 2023 in the EU (along with 172,314 in the UK), according to new research published Monday, March 6 in the journal Cancer. Annals of Oncology. The team of researchers behind this work, led by Carlo La Vecchia, professor at the University of Milan, estimates that there will be a 6.5% drop in cancer death rates in men and women. 3.7% among women between 2018 and 2023.
Cancer: nearly 5.9 million deaths avoided in Europe over the past 35 years
They predict that death rates for the ten most common cancers will continue to fall in most European countries in 2023, although the number of people dying will increase due to population aging (a greater proportion of older people in the population makes them more likely to develop and die from cancer).
Compared to the peak of cancer mortality rates in 1988, the researchers calculate that almost 5.9 million deaths will have been avoided in the 35 years between 1989 and 2023 in the EU-27 (+ 1.24 million in the United Kingdom).
Professor La Vecchia said in a communicated : “If the current trajectory of declining cancer death rates continues, then it is possible that there will be a further reduction of 35% by 2035.” “More smokers who quit are contributing to these favorable trends. In addition, increased efforts must be made to control the growing epidemic of overweight, obesity and diabetes, alcohol consumption and infections, as well as improvements in screening, early diagnosis and treatment”he adds.
Tobacco control works but can be improved
The professor explains that progress in tobacco control is reflected in the favorable trends in lung cancer, but he points out however that more could be done in this regard, especially among women, as lung cancer death rates continue. to increase in them.
Pancreatic cancer is also a cause for concern for researchers, as mortality rates from this disease will not decrease in men and will increase by 3.4% in women in the EU and 3.2% in men. women in the UK. Smoking may explain between about a quarter and a third of these deaths, they say, and women, especially in the middle-aged and older age groups, did not quit as early as men.
