Every year, cancer affects more than 14,000 Basques and kills 6,000 people.

On average, the disease is detected in 8,230 men and 5,984 women per year. They are at greater risk: they have a 40.2% chance of contracting the disease, compared to 28% for women. After age 85, the risk increases in both sexes.

In fact, the incidence and number of deaths related to cancer will increase in the future due to the increase in the average age of the population as well as risk factors, according to the Basque Association against the Disease. “In 2030, every second man and two out of three women will suffer from this,” plant manager Veronica Malda said yesterday. It is believed that there will be about 47,000 more deaths nationwide in 2040 than there were two decades earlier.

Aging, sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, tobacco smoking (which accounts for 30% of cases) or alcohol are factors that will lead to an increase in prevalence, but also improved diagnostic methods will allow more cases to be detected at an early stage. According to the Spanish Society of Oncology, the increase in the number of certain tumors, such as colorectal tumors and tumors of the breast, cervix or prostate, is associated with improved detection. So, in addition to targeting prevention to reduce thousands of cancer cases, the goal is to increase survival from the current 57% to 70%.

Currently, although mortality from some tumors has decreased in recent years due to prevention campaigns and therapeutic advances (although the rate is higher in men than in women), tumors continue to be the leading cause of death in the population. second in the country, second only to cardiovascular diseases. According to Osakidetza, between 2018 and 2022, Euskadi recorded an average of 6,160 deaths per year from this cause. Mortality rates are also higher among men. Every year, an average of 3,674 men and 2,486 women in the community die due to the disease, accounting for 27.4% of deaths.

According to the 71,069 diagnoses Osakidetsa carried out between 2014 and 2018, an increase of 3,660 over the previous five years, the most common cancer in the population is colon and rectal cancer, with 9,769 cases. 8,137 lung tumors were also diagnosed. In men, the most common cancer is prostate cancer (8605), and in women it is breast cancer (8205). Of all those who die from tumors in the Basque Country, half are from lung, colon, pancreatic, prostate and bladder cancer. Among women, breast cancer is the deadliest, followed by lung cancer.

Shielded

The Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM) yesterday published the report “Cancer figures in 2024”, which predicts that 286,664 people will receive this new diagnosis throughout Spain, an increase of 2.6% compared to last year. According to the organization, women will be more likely to develop breast, colorectal, and lung cancer. In fact, although it is reduced in men, lung cancer is the third tumor that will predominate among them due to the increase in smoking “since the seventies.” The number of cases will exceed 10,000 and grow by 12.3% for the year. Yesterday, the Ministry of Health emphasized the importance of prevention, highlighting programs that support the reduction of tobacco and alcohol consumption and the promotion of sports. At the same time, he focused on screenings that are being developed for the early detection of breast, cervical and colon cancer.