2024-01-29 13:16:45
These are data from the annual report “Cancer figures in Spain 2024” of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), in collaboration with the Spanish Network of Cancer Registries (REDECAN) and which collects data on incidence, mortality, survival and prevalence of cancer in Spain.
On the occasion of World Cancer Day, which is commemorated on February 4, the SEOM has presented the report that recalls that this disease is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in the world and also in Spain.
Specifically, it estimates that the number of cancers diagnosed in Spain by 2024 will increase to los 286.6642.6% more than in 2023.
In this sense, SEOM, as it did in previous years, warns that, as worldwide, “reality may be slightly different, since this estimate does not include the possible effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.” .
Among others, it points out that the incidence estimates in the document should be understood as the incidence that would exist in 2024 “if there were no factors that had altered or still alter the diagnostic possibilities of the health system” as a result of covid.
On the other hand, and as will happen worldwide, in the coming years the incidence of cancer will increase, specifically In Spain it is estimated that it will reach 341,000 cases in 2040.
The most frequent new cases of cancer in 2024
The most frequently diagnosed cancer cases in 2024 will be the same as last year. Specifically, hecolon and rectum (44,294 new cases), breast (36,395), lung (32,768), prostate (30,316) and urinary bladder (22,097).
They are closely followed by non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (10,706), and cancers of the pancreas (9,986), kidney (9,208), oral cavity and pharynx (7,603), uterine body (7,305), stomach (6,868) and liver (6,856). .
Of the total cases, 161,678 will be in men and 124,986 will be in women.
In recent years, according to the report, There has been an increase in the incidence of breast cancer in women, colon cancer in menand cancers of the pancreas, kidney, thyroid and non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas in both sexes.
Video provided by SEOM
The most diagnosed in men They will be, as in 2023, those of the prostate (30,316), colon and rectum (27,009), lung (22,483) and bladder (18,247). By far, the next most common will be kidney lymphomas, non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas, those of the oral cavity and pharynx, liver, pancreas and stomach.
In women, the most frequent new cases of cancer in 2024 will be breast cancer (36,395) and colon and rectal cancer (17,285), closely followed by lung cancer (10,285).uterus (7,305), pancreas (4,777) and thyroid (4,775), non-Hodgkin lymphomas (4,637) and bladder (3,850).
Lung cancer in women continues to increase
About lung cancer, The report indicates that in women it continues to increase compared to previous years, in particular, by 2024, cases are expected to increase by 12.3%. compared to 2023. In this way, it is consolidated as the third tumor with the highest incidence among women.
“This fact is related to the increase in tobacco consumption in women since the 1970s. In general, an increase in the incidence of other tumors related to tobacco is expected, especially those of the oral cavity and pharynx” , says the SEOM report.
In men, lung cancer, however, has decreased precisely due to the reduction in tobacco consumption.
The consumption of this substance in 2022 continued to be higher in men than in women, with 20.2% of daily smokers among men and 13.9% among women, although there is a downward trend compared to previous years .
For this reason, the incidences of cancers related to tobacco are still “much higher” in men but “it is very likely” that the incidence in women will continue to increase in the coming years.
The causes behind the increase in cases
The absolute number of cases of cancer diagnosed in Spain increases each year for several reasons, such as the increase in population, of aging -age is a “fundamental” risk factor- and exposure to risk factors (tobacco, alcohol, pollution, obesity, sedentary lifestyle and inadequate diets). But also because of early detection in some types of tumors.
In fact, the report explains, if these screening programs are adequate “they first lead to an increase in the number of incident (invasive) cases and, subsequently, to a possible decrease in invasive cases, an increased diagnosis of carcinomas in situ and also to a reduction in mortality”.
As to agethe risk begins to increase significantly from 45-50 years: From birth to age 80, men have a 40.2% risk of developing cancer and women have a 28.0% risk of developing cancer.
These values at 85 years of age reach 47.8% in men and 32.7% in women.
The SEOM remembers Regarding alcohol, there is no safe level of consumption and that increases the risk even if the intake is low. And obesity is associated with at least nine types of cancer such as breast, endometrium, colon, kidney, gallbladder and pancreas, among others.
Estimated number of cancers attributable to alcohol in 2020 in Spain by tumor location. SEOM report.
The mortality
The cancers responsible for the greatest number of deaths andIn the world they were lung cancer (18.2% of total tumor deaths), colorectal cancer (9.5%), and liver cancer (8.4%).stomach cancer (7.8%) and breast cancer (6.9%).
In the specific case of Spaintumors were responsible for almost a quarter of the deaths in the country (24.7% of deaths, a total of 114,828), only behind diseases of the circulatory system (26.1% of deaths, 121,341) .
Among deaths from cancer, The most frequent causes in 2022, as in previous years, were lung, colon, pancreas, breast and prostate.
In men, lung cancer was responsible “by far” for the greatest number of deaths, followed by colon, prostate, pancreas, liver, bile duct, and bladder tumors.
In women, breast cancer was the tumor with the highest mortality, followed by lung, colon and pancreas.
The SEOM points out that the global increase in cancer deaths in 2022 was “at the expense of an increase in cancer deaths in women, with 1,000 more deaths this year compared to 2021.”
But, despite the increase in deaths that year, “in general, cancer mortality in Spain has experienced a sharp decrease in recent decades.”
14. Temporal evolution of standardized mortality due to tumors in Spain. Graphic from SEOM report.
The survival
The improvement in patient survival is due to preventive activities, early diagnosis campaigns, therapeutic advances, and, in men, the decrease in the prevalence of smoking.
In fact, survival has doubled in the last 40 years.
“Other changes, such as the increase in lung cancer attributable to pollution, treatments for the hepatitis virus, etc., will take time to become evident.”
Nevertheless, The decrease in mortality is not global in all tumors.
In men, five-year net survival for all cancers, except non-melanoma skin, has gone from 52% between 2002-2007 to 55.3% in 2008-2013. In this way, net survival between the two periods increased by 3.3 percentage points.
In women, net survival between the two six-year periods increased from 59.1% to 61.7%.
This difference is probably due, according to the report, 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 the tumor type – along with the stage at diagnosis.
The importance of exercise
In the report, SEOM wanted to focus on the importance of physical exercise in all stages of cancer, from prevention, treatment and survival.
In Spain, only 37.7% of the adult population performs regular physical activity, while 27.4% of the population acknowledges being sedentary.
And this despite the fact that Physical exercise can reduce the risk of breast, colon, urinary bladder, endometrium, esophagus and stomach cancer by up to 30%and almost 20% the risk of cancer-specific mortality.
Video provided by SEOM
The strongest data to date focus on breast cancer and colorectal cancer, but this benefit extends to other tumors such as prostate and lung cancer, according to the study. I’m here in the report on 2024 figures.
Furthermore, it is proven that Physical exercise improves quality of life and reduces side effects derived from treatmentsby increasing patients’ cardiorespiratory capacity and reducing fatigue, and improving their perception of health.
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