More cancer cases will be detected in Spain in 2024

Quantity cancer diagnosed in Spain in 2024 will reach 286,664 caseswhich represents an increase of 2.6 percent compared to 2023 with 279,260 cases, according to the report “Cancer figures in Spain in 2024”, prepared by the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM) and the Spanish Network of Cancer Registries (Redecan). which was announced this Monday.

As expected rising incidence of cancer worldwideIn Spain, the incidence is estimated to reach 341,000 cases in 2040. most commonly diagnosed cancers In Spain in 2024, these will be diseases of the colon and rectum (44,294 new cases), breast (36,395), lung (32,768), prostate (30,316) and bladder (22,097).

Far behind are non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (10,706), pancreatic cancer (9,986), kidney cancer (9,208), malignant melanoma of the skin (7,881), cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx (7,603), as well as cancer of the uterus (7,305), stomach ( 6,868) and liver (6,856).

By gender, in men, as in 2023, the predominance will be the prostate (30,316), colon and rectum (27,009), lungs (22,483) and bladder (18,247). In women – breasts (36,395) and colon and rectum (17,285). In this latter group, lung cancer (10,285) remains at the same level. third most common tumor since 2019 due to increased tobacco use among the same population starting in the 1970s. “Lung cancer a few years ago was not even in the top ten among women, but now it ranks third, and it is related to tobacco,” the Redecan president warned: Jaume Galceran.

Reasons for the increase in cancer incidence in Spain

“In recent decades, the absolute number of cancer cases diagnosed in Spain has increased for several reasons: population growth, aging population (age is a fundamental risk factor for cancer); exposure to risk factors such as tobacco, alcohol, pollution, obesity or sedentary lifestyle, and early detection of certain cancers such as colorectal, breast, cervical or prostate cancer,” he added.

In addition, there is clear reduction in the incidence of lung and bladder cancer in men by reducing smoking, and in women, the incidence of lung cancer in 2024 will almost triple compared to 2003. incidence rate of breast cancer in women, colon cancer in men, and pancreatic, kidney, thyroid and non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas in both sexes. In the case of thyroid cancer, the most important cause of enlargement is probably overdiagnosis.

It is estimated that worldwide the prevalence of cancer five years after diagnosis was more than 44 million people, The most common types of cancer are breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and prostate, lung and thyroid cancer. In 2020, the most common cancers in men in Spain were prostate (259,788), bladder (149,795) and colon (126,241), while in women they were breast (516,827), colon (100,933) and uterine body (83,099).

Cancer Survival

“Although there is more morbidity, Cancer survival rates also continue to rise“, noted SEOM President Cesar A. Rodriguez. In terms of net survival five years after diagnosis for patients diagnosed between 2008 and 2013, in Spain it was 55.3 percent in men and 61.7 percentage in women. This difference is likely due to the fact that certain tumors are more common in one sex than the other, since the most important differences in survival are due to tumor type (along with stage at diagnosis).

Thus, in men the age-standardized net survival rate was 90 percent for prostate cancer. and testicular and 86 percent for thyroid cancer, while for pancreatic cancer it was 7 percent, for lung cancer 12 percent, for esophageal cancer 13 percent and for liver cancer 18 percent.

Among women The net survival rate for thyroid cancer was 93 percent.skin melanoma 89 percent and breast cancer 86 percent, pancreatic cancer 10 percent, liver and esophageal cancer 16 percent and lung cancer 18 percent.

” survival rate of cancer patients in Spain This is similar to what is happening in the countries around us. It is estimated to have doubled over the past 40 years and it is likely that, although slowly, it will continue to increase in the coming years, due to the use of new treatments and increased adoption of screening, for example for colorectal cancer, in recent years.” , Rodriguez noted.

Increased mortality

In Spain INE published Death data for 2022: 464,417 deaths., almost 14,000 more than the previous year. Once again, tumors accounted for almost a quarter of deaths in Spain (24.7 percent of deaths, 114,828). Thus, Galceran insisted that age was associated with cancer mortality. “5 percent of cancers occur in people under 45 years of age.; 35 percent between the ages of 45 and 64 and 60 percent among people over 65,” he said. The prevalence of cancer in children is only 0.5 percent.

In men Tumors continue to be the leading cause of death in Spain in 2022., ahead of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. However, among women, the leading cause of death was cardiovascular disease, followed by tumors (20.4 percent, 46,917 people). Among deaths from tumors, the most common causes in Spain in 2022, as in previous years, are lung, colon, pancreatic, breast and prostate cancer.

As for men in Spain in 2022, again Lung cancer causes the most deathsThis is followed by cancer of the colon, prostate, pancreas, liver and bile ducts, and bladder. In women, breast cancer was the tumor responsible for the highest mortality rate, followed by lung, colon and pancreatic cancer.

Despite this absolute increase in cancer deaths in 2022, overall Cancer deaths in Spain have fallen sharply in recent decades, although this decrease is not uniform for all tumors and depending on gender.