The number of cancer deaths in the European Union is likely to rise by 2021, according to a study by the World Health Organization and the University of Bologna. Researchers have studied mortality rates from 1970 to 2016 for six of the most-populous countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the UK. They studied individual cancer types to determine the overall mortality rate for each country. The data they used was collected from the World Health Organization and Eurostat databases.
The report shows that lung cancer will be the leading cause of death from cancer. The disease accounts for more deaths than colorectal, prostate, and breast cancer combined. In recent years, progress against these other cancers has been sluggish, but the death rate for lung cancer has been steadily decreasing. It accounted for 46% of the overall drop in cancer mortality in the past five years and spurred a second consecutive year’s record low of 2.4%.
Leukemia will be the sixth leading cause of death from cancer in men and women in the US. This cancer is estimated to kill 158 people per day and more than six people per hour. The numbers for lymphoma, leukemia, and myeloma are expected to make up 9.5 percent of all cancer deaths in the US by 2021. And, in that year, more than eighty thousand people will be diagnosed with leukemia.
Lung cancer topped the list as the most common cancer among men. It contributed 10.7% of the total number of new cases in 2020. Lung cancer also contributed the highest percentage of new cases of cancer in men worldwide. Lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and breast cancer accounted for more than two-thirds of new cases in 2020. Breast cancer, on the other hand, accounted for 25.8% of women worldwide.
The report also outlined the areas in the United States where treatment can benefit patients and which types need more attention. While overall survival rates for cancer have improved in the past few decades, there are still cancer types that need more attention. Prostate cancer and colorectal cancer death rates are improving, but female breast cancer remains one of the three deadliest diseases for women of all races and ethnicities. In fact, breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among Hispanic women.
The projections from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) were based on the latest information available. These numbers only cover deaths and cases through 2018, so the actual numbers may vary. The data also do not account for the effects of COVID-19 on cancer diagnoses. It may be that fewer people will be diagnosed with cancer during the restriction period. If that is the case, the numbers might be higher. For now, it is too early to know which of the predictions are accurate.
Although cancer death rates have decreased significantly in Canada in recent decades, it remains a serious problem for the country. In Canada, the rate of cancer deaths will remain high, with approximately two million Canadians diagnosed and 84 600 expected to die from the disease in 2021. Lung cancer, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer are expected to remain the most common types, although thyroid and pancreatic cancer are decreasing in numbers. The five-year net survival for cancer is currently estimated at 64%.
