By 2022, the death rate of the ten most common cancers, starting with ovarian cancer, is expected to decrease in Europe and the United Kingdom.
This is indicated by the research coordinated by the University of Milan together with the University of Bologna and supported by the Airc Foundation for Cancer Research.
Published in the journal Annals of Oncology, the results indicate that in 2022, compared to 2017, the mortality rate from ovarian cancer is set to decrease by around 17% in 2022 in the UK and by around 7% in EU countries. , mainly thanks to the use of oral contraceptives.
"Earlier and more widespread use of oral contraceptives in the UK than in most EU countries for generations of women born in the 1930s plays an important role in these trends," noted the coordinator of the researched by Carlo La Vecchia, Professor of Medical Statistics at the University of Milan.
"In Italy, Spain, Poland and other countries, oral contraceptives were made available much later, and therefore the favorable trends in these countries started later and are less." According to research indications, in 2022 there will be approximately 26,500 deaths from ovarian cancer in EU countries 4,000 in the United Kingdom. After correcting for age, the death rate will be 4.32 and 4.57 per 100,000 women in the EU and the UK respectively. In addition to the long-term use of oral contraceptives, which reduces the risk of ovarian cancer in middle-aged and elderly women by about 40%, La Vecchia found that "other factors may also be partially responsible, such as a reduction in use of hormone replacement therapy ".
Overall, research indicates that death rates for the ten most common cancers will continue to decline in most European countries this year, although the number of people dying will increase due to an aging population.
Around 1,446,000 deaths from cancer are expected in the EU (1,269,200) and the UK (176,800), with a reduction of 6% in men (126.9 deaths per 100,000) and 4% in women (80, 2 per 100,000) in the EU since 2017 and 7% (113.2 per 100,000) in men and 6% (87.6 per 100,000) in women in the UK.
Pancreatic cancer is an exception, for which mortality rates continue to rise in women (+ 3.4%) with little variation in men (down 0.7%) in the EU, and which has overtaken cancer. breast cancer, becoming the third most common cause of cancer death in the EU (87,300 deaths, with a mortality rate of 8.1 and 5.9 per 100,000 in men and women, respectively).
Lung cancer deaths are also on the rise (+ 2% in the EU and + 5% in women in the UK).
"Tobacco - said La Vecchia - continues to play a key role and is the leading cause of cancer deaths across Europe. Smoking affects death rates for a number of cancers, including cancers of the pancreas, lungs and of the bladder. "(ANSA).
