Complete cancer prevalence in Europe in 2020 by disease duration and country (EUROCARE-6): a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Cancer survivors-people living with and beyond cancer-are a growing population with different health needs depending on prognosis and time since diagnosis. Despite being increasingly necessary, complete information on cancer prevalence is not systematically available in all European countries. We aimed to fill this gap by analysing population-based cancer registry data from the EUROCARE-6 study. METHODS: In this population-based study, using incidence and follow-up data up to Jan 1, 2013, from 61 cancer registries, complete and limited-duration prevalence by cancer type, sex, and age were estimated for 29 European countries and the 27 countries in the EU (EU27; represented by 22 member states that contributed registry data) using the completeness index method. We focused on 32 malignant cancers defined according to the third edition of the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, and only the first primary tumour was considered when estimating the prevalence. Prevalence measures are expressed in terms of absolute number of prevalent cases, crude prevalence proportion (reported as percentage or cases per 100 000 resident people), and age-standardised prevalence proportion based on the European Standard Population 2013. We made projections of cancer prevalence proportions up to Jan 1, 2020, using linear regression. FINDINGS: In 2020, 23 711 thousand (95% CI 23 565-23 857) people (5·0% of the population) were estimated to be alive after a cancer diagnosis in Europe, and 22 347 thousand (95% CI 22 210-22 483) in EU27. Cancer survivors were more frequently female (12 818 thousand [95% CI 12 720-12 917]) than male (10 892 thousand [10 785-11 000]). The five leading tumours in female survivors were breast cancer, colorectal cancer, corpus uterine cancer, skin melanoma, and thyroid cancer (crude prevalence proportion from 2270 [95%CI 2248-2292] per 100 000 to 301 [297-305] per 100 000). Prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, urinary bladder cancer, skin melanoma, and kidney cancer were the most common tumours in male survivors (from 1714 [95% CI 1686-1741] per 100 000 to 255 [249-260] per 100 000). The differences in prevalence between countries were large (from 2 to 10 times depending on cancer type), in line with the demographic structure, incidence, and survival patterns. Between 2010 and 2020, the number of prevalent cases increased by 3·5% per year (41% overall), partly due to an ageing population. In 2020, 14 850 thousand (95% CI 14 681-15 018) people were estimated to be alive more than 5 years after diagnosis and 9099 thousand (8909-9288) people were estimated to be alive more than 10 years after diagnosis, representing an increasing proportion of the cancer survivor population. INTERPRETATION: Our findings are useful at the country level in Europe to support evidence-based policies to improve the quality of life, care, and rehabilitation of patients with cancer throughout the disease pathway. Future work includes estimating time to cure by stage at diagnosis in prevalent cases. FUNDING: European Commission.

Cure indicators and prevalence by stage at diagnosis for breast and colorectal cancer patients: A population-based study in Italy.

People alive many years after breast (BC) or colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnoses are increasing. This paper aimed to estimate the indicators of cancer cure and complete prevalence for Italian patients with BC and CRC by stage and age. A total of 31 Italian Cancer Registries (47% of the population) data until 2017 were included. Mixture cure models allowed estimation of net survival (NS); cure fraction (CF); time to cure (TTC, 5-year conditional NS >95%); cure prevalence (who will not die of cancer); and already cured (prevalent patients living longer than TTC). 2.6% of all Italian women (806,410) were alive in 2018 after BC and 88% will not die of BC. For those diagnosed in 2010, CF was 73%, 99% when diagnosed at stage I, 81% at stage II, and 36% at stages III-IV. For all stages combined, TTC was >10 years under 45 and over 65 years and for women with advanced stages, but ≤1 year for all BC patients at stage I. The proportion of already cured prevalent BC women was 75% (94% at stage I). Prevalent CRC cases were 422,407 (0.7% of the Italian population), 90% will not die of CRC. For CRC patients, CF was 56%, 92% at stage I, 71% at stage II, and 35% at stages III-IV. TTC was ≤10 years for all age groups and stages. Already cured were 59% of all prevalent CRC patients (93% at stage I). Cancer cure indicators by stage may contribute to appropriate follow-up in the years after diagnosis, thus avoiding patients' discrimination.

Indicators of cure for women living after uterine and ovarian cancers: a population-based study.

This study aims to estimate long-term survival, cancer prevalence, and several cure indicators for Italian women with gynaecological cancers. Thirty-one cancer registries, representing 47% of the Italian female population, were included. Mixture cure models were used to estimate Net Survival (NS), Cure Fraction, Time To Cure (5-year conditional NS>95%), Cure Prevalence (women who will not die of cancer), and Already Cured (living longer than Time to Cure). In 2018, 0.4% (121,704) of Italian women were alive after corpus uteri cancer, 0.2% (52,551) after cervical, and 0.2% (52,153) after ovarian cancer. More than 90% of patients with uterine cancers and 83% with ovarian cancer will not die from their neoplasm (Cure Prevalence). Women with gynaecological cancers have a residual excess risk of death <5% after 5 years since diagnosis. The Cure Fraction was 69% for corpus uteri, 32% for ovarian, and 58% for cervical cancer patients. Time To Cure was ≤10 years for women with gynaecological cancers aged <55 years. 74% of patients with cervical cancer, 63% with corpus uteri cancer, and 55% with ovarian cancer were Already Cured. These results will contribute to improving follow-up programs for women with gynaecological cancers and supporting efforts against discrimination of already cured ones.

Geographical and temporal differences in gastric and oesophageal cancer registration by subsite and morphology in Europe.

Background: Gastric and oesophageal cancers pose a serious public health concern. In 2020 a total of 189,031 incident cases (136,038 stomach, 52,993 oesophagus) and 142,508 deaths (96,997 stomach, 45,511 oesophagus) were estimated in Europe. Oesophago-gastric cancers are a heterogeneous disease, with different aetiology and epidemiology for the various topographic subsites and main histopathological types. Topography subsite and morphology is key information to allow differentiating oesophago-gastric cancers. Correct registration and coding of such variables are fundamental in allowing proper description of the epidemiology of different subsites and histopathological types of oesophago-gastric cancers. The aim of this article is to highlight geographical and temporal variability in topography and morphology of oesophago-gastric cancers observed in Europe in the considered period. Methods: Data collected in the framework of the ENCR-JRC (European Commission's Joint Research Centre) data call and feeding the European Cancer Information System (ECIS) were used to assess the variability of topography and morphology registration of gastric and oesophageal cancer in Europe in the period 1995-2014. Malignant cancers of the stomach and the oesophagus were selected following, respectively, topography codes C16 and C15 of the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, third edition (ICD-O-3). Analyses were performed by subsite, morphology group, year, sex, and European region. Results: A total of 840,464 incident cases occurring in the period 1995-2014 - 579,264 gastric (67.2%) and 276,260 (32.8%) oesophageal carcinomas - was selected for the analysis. Data was recorded by 53 PBCRs (9 based in Northern Europe, 14 in Western Europe, 3 in Eastern Europe and 27 in Southern Europe) from 19 countries. Conclusion: A wide variability in oesophago-gastric cancers topographic subsites and histopathological types patterns was observed, with a corresponding improvement in accuracy of registration in the analysis period. PBCRs are ideally placed to guide the epidemiological evaluations of such a complex group of diseases, in collaboration with clinicians, patients and other public health stakeholders.

Cancer incidence in immigrants by geographical area of origin: data from the Veneto Tumour Registry, Northeastern Italy.

Objective: We investigated whether there are differences in cancer incidence by geographical area of origin in North-eastern Italy. Methods: We selected all incident cases recorded in the Veneto Tumour Registry in the period 2015-2019. Subjects were classified, based on the country of birth, in six geographical areas of origin (Italy, Highly Developed Countries-HDC, Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, South-central America). Age-standardized incidence rates and incidence rate ratio (IRR) were calculated, for all cancer sites and for colorectal, liver, breast and cervical cancer separately. Results: We recorded 159,486 all-site cancer cases; 5.2% cases occurred in subjects born outside Italy, the majority from High Migratory Pressure Countries (HMPC) (74.3%). Incidence rates were significantly lower in subjects born in HMPC in both sexes. Immigrants, in particular born in Asia and Africa, showed lower rates of all site cancer incidence. The lowest IRR for colorectal cancer was observed in males from South-Central America (IRR 0.19, 95%CI 0.09-0.44) and in females from Asia (IRR 0.32, 95%CI 0.18-0.70). The IRR of breast cancer appeared significantly lower than Italian natives in all female populations, except for those coming from HDC. Females from Eastern Europe showed a higher IRR for cervical cancer (IRR 2.02, 95%CI 1.57-2.61). Conclusion: Cancer incidence was found lower in subjects born outside Italy, with differences in incidence patterns depending on geographical area of origin and the cancer type in question. Further studies, focused on the country of birth of the immigrant population, would help to identify specific risk factors influencing cancer incidence.

Trends in colorectal cancer surgical resection rates during the screening era: a retrospective study in Italy.

BACKGROUND: Faecal immunochemical test (FIT)-based screening is effective in reducing colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence, but its sensitivity for proximal lesions remains low. OBJECTIVES: We compared age-adjusted CRC surgical resection rates across anatomic sites (proximal colon, distal colon, rectum), age groups and sex over 20 years in a large Italian population. We particularly focused on changes in trends following FIT-screening implementation in the target population (50-69 years). DESIGN: This retrospective study analysed data from the Veneto Region's administrative Hospital Discharge Dataset, involving over 54 000 patients aged 40-89 (43.4% female) who underwent CRC surgery between 2002 and 2021. RESULTS: Overall, surgery rates increased until 2007 (annual percentage changes: 2.5% in males, 2.9% in females) and then declined (-4.2% in males, -3.4% in females). This decline was steeper for distal and rectal cancers compared with proximal cancer, suggesting a shift towards more right-sided CRC surgery.In males, the prescreening increase in proximal surgery was reversed after screening implementation (slope change: -6%) while the prescreening decline accelerated for distal (-4%) and rectal (-3%) surgeries. In females, stable prescreening trends shifted downward for all sites (-5% for proximal, -8% for distal and -7% for rectal surgery). However, the change in trends between prescreening and postscreening periods was not different across anatomic sites for either sex (all slope change differences in pairwise comparisons were not statistically significant). CONCLUSION: The shift towards proximal surgery may not be entirely due to the FIT's low sensitivity but may reflect an underlying upward trend in proximal cancers independent of screening.

Thirty-two-year trends of cancer incidence by sex and cancer site in the Veneto Region from 1987 to 2019.

Background: This observational study considers the sex-specific incidence of the most incident cancers as recorded in the population-based Veneto Regional Cancer Registry over a period of more than 30 years (1987-2019). Methods: The Veneto Regional Cancer Registry collected data for the time interval 1987-2019. Significant changes in incidence trends calculated on age-standardized incidence rates (Annual Percent Change-APC) were identified by join point regression analysis. Results: Overall, the incidence trend for all cancers decreased in males and remained stable in females. In nine cancer sites, the incidence trends showed consistent differences by sex (oral cavity, esophagus, colon rectum and anus, liver, larynx, lung, cutaneous malignant melanoma, bladder, and thyroid gland). Other malignancies did not show significant sex-related differences (stomach, pancreas, biliary tract, kidney/urinary tract, central nervous system, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and leukemia). Conclusion: In the period 1987-2019, this study revealed sex-related differences in cancer incidence trends. Over time, cancer incidence remained higher in males, with a decreasing epidemiological impact, plausibly resulting from prevention campaigns against environmental cancer risk factors, as tobacco and alcohol. Conversely, a significant decrease was not observed in the incidence trend in females. These findings contribute essential insights for profiling the epidemiological map of cancer in a large Italian population, allowing comparison with other European cancer epidemiology studies and providing updated data supporting sex-related primary and secondary cancer prevention strategies.