Diagnosis of cancer: Which tumor most of those affected die from
Created: 09/19/2022, 09:19 am
By: Juliane Gutmann
If detected early, many types of cancer can be effectively treated thanks to new therapies.
But there are also aggressive tumor types with high mortality rates.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Germany - after cardiovascular diseases such as strokes or heart attacks.
Almost 240,000 people died from cancer in 2020.
The tragedy: many deaths could have been prevented.
A press release by the Klinikum Rechts der Isar in Munich states that 50 to 70 percent of cancer deaths in Europe could be avoided if the interaction between prevention and early detection were optimized.
“A healthy lifestyle could prevent 40 percent of all cancers.
Physical inactivity, obesity, unhealthy diet, stimulants and protection from UV radiation are risk factors for cancer that can be influenced.
These need to be reduced in primary prevention so that cancer doesn't develop in the first place," explains Professor Renate Oberhoffer-Fritz, Dean and Ordinaria at the Chair for Preventive Paediatrics, Faculty for Sports and Health Sciences at the Technical University of Munich.
An employee looks at a cross-sectional image of a prostate on a monitor in a control room at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ).
Although prostate cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in Germany, the chances of recovery are good if treated early.
(Archive image) © Uwe Anspach/dpa
Detecting cancer early: Which check-ups you should take
In general, if detected early, many types of cancer can be treated well and often cured.
You should therefore attend the early detection examinations recommended by the Federal Government and the German Cancer Research Center (dkfz).
On the dkfz website you will find an overview of the examinations that are recommended as part of the statutory cancer screening program.
Cancer-causing viruses: These pathogens can cause cancer
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The Center for Cancer Registry Data of the Robert Koch Institute regularly publishes an overview of new cancer cases and cancer deaths in Germany.
The 2017/2018 report states: “In 2018, an estimated 233,000 women and 265,000 men in Germany were newly diagnosed with cancer.
The total number of new cases per year has therefore been stagnating for about ten years at around 500,000 new cases per year.
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Dangerous types of cancer: which cancer kills most patients
Among other things, the report lists the most frequently diagnosed cancer diseases in 2018.
These are the following types of cancer: (percentages represent the percentage of all new cancer cases)
in women: tumors in the mammary gland (30 percent) and in the intestine (11.5 percent)
in men: tumors of the prostate (24.6 percent) and in the lungs (13.3 percent)
A total of 229,065 people died from cancer in 2018, according to the Center for Cancer Registry Data.
The following types of cancer were the deadliest: (The percentages represent the share of the most common tumor locations in all cancer deaths in Germany in 2018)
in women: tumors of the mammary gland (17.7 percent), the lung (15.8 percent) and the intestine (10.8 percent)
in men: tumors of the lungs (22.8 percent), the prostate (12 percent) and in the intestine (10.8 percent)