Dying With Unrelieved Pain-Prescription of Opioids Is Not Enough.

CONTEXT: Fear of pain resonates with most people, in particular, in relation to dying. Despite this, there are still people dying with unrelieved pain. OBJECTIVES: We quantified the risk, and investigated risk factors, for dying with unrelieved pain in a nationwide observational cohort study. METHODS: Using data from Swedish Register of Palliative Care, we analyzed 161,762 expected deaths during 2011-2015. The investigated risk factors included cause of death, place of death, absence of an end-of-life (EoL) conversation, and lack of contact with pain management expertise. Modified Poisson regression models were fitted to estimate risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for dying with unrelieved pain. RESULTS: Unrelieved pain during the final week of life was reported for 25% of the patients with pain, despite prescription of opioids PRN in 97% of cases. Unrelieved pain was common both among patients dying of cancer and of nonmalignant chronic diseases. Statistically significant risk factors for unrelieved pain included hospital death (RR = 1.84, 95% CI 1.79-1.88) compared with dying in specialist palliative care, absence of an EoL conversation (RR = 1.42, 95% CI 1.38-1.45), and dying of cancer in the bones (RR = 1.13, 95% CI 1.08-1.18) or lung (RR = 1.10, 95% CI 1.06-1.13) compared with nonmalignant causes. CONCLUSION: Despite almost complete prescription of opioids PRN for patients with pain, patients die with unrelieved pain. Health care providers, hospitals in particular, need to focus more on pain in dying patients. An EoL conversation is one achievable intervention.

Age at diagnosis and disease progression of cystic fibrosis in an area without newborn screening.

We studied age at diagnosis and disease progression of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with a new study design, using data of 119 patients extracted from Stockholm CF Centre registry. Risk factors for overall morbidity and for lung, liver and nutritional morbidity were investigated separately using time to event methodology (Kaplan-Meier curves, proportional hazards regression). The patients were followed from: (i) healthy at diagnosis to morbidity, (ii) diagnosis with symptoms of morbidity to being free of morbidity, and (iii) free of morbidity to relapse of morbidity. Median age at diagnosis was 5.0 months. Of the patients with overall morbidity at diagnosis 50% became free of morbidity after 4.8 years; however, the patients above the age of 24 months at diagnosis had a reduced chance of becoming free of morbidity (crude hazard ratio 0.14 [95 % confidence interval 0.04, 0.45]) compared with those with diagnosis between the ages of 2 and 12 months (P<0.01). Of the healthy at diagnosis, 50% experienced overall morbidity after 1.4 years. They had a slow decline to the endpoint of the specific morbidities; 50% experienced lung morbidity after 3.4 years and liver morbidity after 4.8 years, while 50% never reached nutritional morbidity during the 10 years follow-up. We conclude that there was a disadvantage for the CF patients diagnosed after the age of 24 months with symptoms of overall morbidity at diagnosis in an area without newborn screening.

Genetic influences are important for most but not all lower urinary tract symptoms: a population-based survey in a cohort of adult Swedish twins.

BACKGROUND: The relative importance of genetic and environmental factors for the occurrence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) is poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: To (1) estimate the prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI), overactive bladder (OAB), and other LUTS and (2) to assess the heritability of these symptoms. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional survey of LUTS in a national population-based cohort of Swedish twins 20-46 yr of age (n=42 582) from the Swedish Twin Registry. MEASUREMENTS: Prevalence rates were determined and heritability of LUTS (in female twins) was assessed using indicators of twin similarity. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: A total of 25 364 twins completed the questionnaire (response rate: 59.6%). LUTS were more common in women (UI: 7%; OAB: 9%; nocturia: 61%; micturition frequency: 18%) than in men (UI: 1%; OAB: 5%; nocturia: 40%; micturition frequency: 11%), and prevalence increased with age. The strongest genetic effects were observed for UI, frequency, and nocturia. The lowest estimate for genetic effects was observed for OAB where environmental effects dominated, and more specifically shared family environment accounted for a third or more of the total variation. For stress UI, a fifth of the total variation in susceptibility to the disorder could be attributed to shared environment. Nonshared environmental effects were seen in the range of 45-65% for the various LUTS. The prevalence of LUTS was low in the men, and there were too few male cases to compute measures of similarity or heritability estimates. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides robust evidence of a genetic influence for susceptibility to UI, frequency, and nocturia in women. In contrast, shared environmental factors seem more important for the predisposition to develop OAB, which may reflect familial patterns such as learning from parental behaviours.

A population-based comparison of the survival of patients with colorectal cancer in England, Norway and Sweden between 1996 and 2004.

OBJECTIVE: To examine differences in the relative survival and excess death rates of patients with colorectal cancer in Norway, Sweden and England. METHODS: All individuals diagnosed with colorectal cancer (ICD10 (International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision) C18-C20) between 1996 and 2004 in England, Norway and Sweden were included in this population-based study of patients with colorectal cancer. The main outcome measures were 5-year cumulative relative period of survival and excess death rates stratified by age and period of follow-up. RESULTS: The survival of English patients with colorectal cancer was significantly lower than was observed in both Norway and Sweden. Five-year age-standardised colon cancer relative survival was 51.1% (95% CI 50.1% to 52.0%) in England compared with 57.9% (95% CI 55.2% to 60.5%) in Norway and 59.9% (95% CI 57.7% to 62.0%) in Sweden. Five-year rectal cancer survival was 52.3% (95% CI 51.1% to 53.5%) in England compared with 60.7% (95% CI 57.0% to 64.2%) and 59.8% (95% CI 56.9% to 62.6%) in Norway and Sweden, respectively. The lower survival for colon cancer in England was primarily due to a high number of excess deaths among older patients in the first 3 months after diagnosis. In patients with rectal cancer, excess deaths remained elevated until 2 years of follow-up. If the lower excess death rate in Norway applied in the English population, then 890 (13.6%) and 654 (16.8%) of the excess deaths in the colon and rectal cancer populations, respectively, could have been prevented at 5 years follow-up. Most of these avoidable deaths occurred shortly after diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: There was significant variation in survival between the countries, with the English population experiencing a poorer outcome, primarily due to a relatively higher number of excess deaths in older patients in the short term after diagnosis. It seems likely, therefore, that in England a greater proportion of the population present with more rapidly fatal disease (especially in the older age groups) than in Norway or Sweden.

Trends in the survival of patients diagnosed with breast cancer in the Nordic countries 1964-2003 followed up to the end of 2006.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the leading cancer among women worldwide in terms of both incidence and mortality. European patients have generally high 5-year relative survival ratios, and the Nordic countries, except for Denmark, have ratios among the highest. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Based on the NORDCAN database we present trends in age-standardised incidence and mortality rates of invasive breast cancer in the Nordic countries, alongside 5- and 10-year relative survival for the period of diagnosis 1964-2003 followed up to the end of 2006. Excess mortality rates are also provided for varying follow-up intervals after diagnosis. The analysis is confined to invasive breast cancer in Nordic women. RESULTS: Incidence increased rapidly in all five countries, whereas mortality remained almost unchanged. Both incidence and mortality rates were highest in Denmark. Between 1964 and 2003 both 5- and 10-year relative survival increased by 20-30 percentage points in all countries, and 10-year survival remained around 10 percentage points lower than 5-year survival. Relative survival was lowest in Denmark throughout the period, with a 5-year survival of 79% for years 1999-2003, but 83-87% in the other countries. From 1964 the youngest women had the highest survival ratios up until the introduction of screening, when a shift occurred towards higher survival among age groups 50-59 and 60-69 in each country, except for Denmark. Excess death rates during the first months after diagnosis were highest in Denmark. CONCLUSION: Breast cancer survival is high and rising in the Nordic countries, and probably relates to the early implementation of organised mammography screening in each country except Denmark and a high and relatively uniform standard of living, diagnosis and treatment. Denmark stands out with higher mortality and poorer survival. The major determinants may include a failure to instigate national breast screening and a greater co-morbidity resulting from a higher prevalence of both tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption.

National comparisons of lung cancer survival in England, Norway and Sweden 2001-2004: differences occur early in follow-up.

BACKGROUND Countries with a similar expenditure on healthcare within Europe exhibit differences in lung cancer survival. Survival in lung cancer was studied in 2001-2004 in England, Norway and Sweden. METHODS Nationwide cancer registries in England, Norway and Sweden were used to identify 250 828 patients with lung cancer from England, 18 386 from Norway and 24 886 from Sweden diagnosed between 1996 and 2004, after exclusion of patients registered through death certificate only or with missing, zero or negative survival times. 5-Year relative survival was calculated by application of the period approach. The excess mortality between the countries was compared using a Poisson regression model. RESULTS In all subcategories of age, sex and follow-up period, the 5-year survival was lower in England than in Norway and Sweden. The age-standardised survival estimates were 6.5%, 9.3% and 11.3% for men and 8.4%, 13.5% and 15.9% for women in the respective countries in 2001-2004. The difference in excess risk of dying between the countries was predominantly confined to the first year of follow-up. The relative excess risk ratio during the first 3 months of follow-up comparing England with Norway 2001-2004 varied between 1.23 and 1.46, depending on sex and age, and between 1.56 and 1.91 comparing England with Sweden. CONCLUSION Access to healthcare and population awareness are likely to be major reasons for the differences, but it cannot be excluded that diagnostic and therapeutic activity play a role. Future improvements in lung cancer management may be seen early in follow-up.

Survival of patients diagnosed with cancer in the Nordic countries up to 1999-2003 followed to the end of 2006. A critical overview of the results.

UNLABELLED: Differences in Nordic cancer patient survival observed today originate from the 1970s, but were first identified in a mortality prediction from 1995. This paper provides timely comparisons of survival using NORDCAN, a database with comparable information from the Nordic cancer registries. Elucidation of the differences is important when monitoring cancer care generally and evaluating the impact of cancer plans. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The NORDCAN database 1964-2003 with follow-up for death through 2006, was used to analyse incidence, mortality, and survival for all NORDCAN cancer sites. We analysed 5-year relative survival and excess mortality rates in the first three months and 2-5 years after diagnosis. RESULTS: The time trends in survival 1989-2003 were largely similar between the Nordic countries with increases in 14 sites among men and 16 among women. In all countries the excess mortality rates were highest in the first three months after diagnosis, but decreased to similar levels across all countries 2-5 years after diagnosis. Comparing countries excess mortality was highest in Denmark irrespective of follow-up period. Lower survival was observed for Danish cancer patients in 23 of the 33 cancer sites in men and 26 of 35 sites in women. Low and similar levels of survival were observed for cancers of the oesophagus, lung, liver and pancreas, while an 8-10 percentage point difference in survival was found between countries for colorectal cancer. CONCLUSION: The notable differences in Nordic cancer patient survival can be linked to national variations in risk factors, co-morbidity, and the implementation of screening. Improved treatment and primary prevention, in particular the targeting of tobacco and alcohol use, is required to improve cancer control. The recently-initiated cancer plans in Denmark and Norway are yet to show an observable effect on the corresponding cancer survival.

Trends in survival of patients diagnosed with cancer of the digestive organs in the Nordic countries 1964-2003 followed up to the end of 2006.

UNLABELLED: Cancers of the digestive organs (including the oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, rectum and anus, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas) constitute one-fifth of all cancer cases in the Nordic countries and is a group of diseases with diverse time trends and varying consequences for public health. In this study we examine trends in relative survival in relation to the corresponding incidence and mortality rates in the Nordic countries during the period 1964-2003. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data were retrieved from the NORDCAN database for the period 1964 to 2003, grouped into eight 5-year periods of diagnosis. The patients were followed up until the end of 2006. Analysis comprised trends in 5-year relative survival, excess mortality and age-specific relative survival. RESULTS: Survival following cancers of the colon and rectum has increased continuously over the observed period, yet Danish patients fall behind those in the other Nordic countries. The largest inter-country variation is seen for the rare cancers in the small intestine. There has been little increase in prognosis for patients diagnosed with cancers of the liver, gallbladder or pancreas; 5-year survival is generally below 15%. Survival also remains consistently low for patients with oesophageal cancer, while minor increases in survival are seen among stomach cancer patients in all countries except Denmark. The concomitant incidence and mortality rates of stomach cancer have steadily decreased in each Nordic country at least since 1964. CONCLUSION: While the site-specific variations in mortality and survival largely reflect the extent of changing and improving diagnostic and clinical practices, the incidence trends highlight the importance of risk factor modification. Alongside the ongoing clinical advances, effective primary prevention measures, including the control of alcohol and tobacco consumption as well as changing dietary pattern, will reduce the incidence and mortality burden of digestive cancers in the Nordic countries.

Trends in the survival of patients diagnosed with malignant melanoma of the skin in the Nordic countries 1964-2003 followed up to the end of 2006.

UNLABELLED: A previous Nordic study showed a marked and steady increase in the age-adjusted 5-year relative survival of skin melanoma patients diagnosed during the period 1958 through 1987. Males had considerably poorer survival than females. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Using the NORDCAN database, we studied relative survival and excess mortality of patients diagnosed with melanoma of the skin in the Nordic countries 1964-2003 followed up to the end of 2006. These were contrasted with concomitant trends in incidence and mortality. RESULTS: The overall incidence of melanoma almost quadrupled, but there was considerable variation in the trends in the five countries. Mortality was low but doubled during the study period. Survival ratios increased steadily to between 80% and 90% for patients diagnosed in 1999-2003. Swedish patients had consistently higher survival, whereas Danish patients had the highest excess death rates the first three months after diagnosis up until 1990, but thereafter, rates reached a similar low level to that observed in the other Nordic countries. The survival of Nordic women is still higher than that of men, but the difference has diminished, while the mortality rates among men are becoming increasingly higher relative to those for women among individuals 50 years and older. In younger individuals, mortality rates are similar in the two sexes, and declining. CONCLUSIONS: Nordic patient survival following melanoma diagnosis is generally high and has been steadily increasing in the last decades. Differences in incidence between the five countries are more pronounced than the differences in survival. The strong upward trends in incidence and survival may mainly be the result of extensive changes in sunbathing habits or other UV exposure and, more recently, of an increasing awareness by the medical community and the public concerning early detection of melanoma of the skin.

Trends in the survival of patients diagnosed with malignant neoplasms of lymphoid, haematopoietic, and related tissue in the Nordic countries 1964-2003 followed up to the end of 2006.

BACKGROUND: Hodgkin lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and acute and other leukaemias constitute about 7% of the overall cancer incidence and 8% of cancer mortality in the Nordic countries. The aim of this study is to describe and interpret the trends in relative survival and excess mortality in the five Nordic populations among these patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Using the NORDCAN database 1964-2003, we estimated age-standardised incidence and mortality rates, 5-year relative survival, and excess mortality rates for varying follow-up periods, and age-specific 5-year relative survival by country, sex, and 5-year diagnostic period. RESULTS: Taking into account classification and registration problems in the earlier periods, the patterns of incidence, mortality, and survival are fairly similar between the countries within each cancer form studied. High 5-year relative survival ratios of over 80% were seen in the most recent period 1999-2003 for Hodgkin lymphoma, between 50 and 60% for Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, 38-49% for acute leukaemia and 60-73% for other leukaemia. The variations were between 28 and 41% for multiple myeloma. Danish patients diagnosed with these malignancies tend to fare slightly worse than their Nordic neighbours, with excess mortality rates marginally higher one to three months after diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Although the recent trends and absolute levels of incidence, mortality and survival for the lympho-haematopoietic malignancies are similar, the consistently lower survival of Danish patients--irrespective of type of malignancy--points to an impact of co-morbidity related lifestyle factors, which may negatively affect the chemotherapy and radiation offered as standard treatments for these diseases.

Trends in the overall survival of cancer patients diagnosed 1964-2003 in the Nordic countries followed up to the end of 2006: the importance of case-mix.

AIM: Overall survival after cancer is frequently used when assessing the health care service performance as a whole. While used by the public, politicians, and the media, it is often discarded by clinicians and epidemiologists due to the heterogeneous mix of different cancers, risk factors and treatment modalities. We studied the trend in the Nordic 5-year relative survival and excess mortality for all cancers combined to see if the impact of case-mix and variations between countries in diagnostic methods such as breast screening and PSA testing could explain the lower survival in Denmark. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From the NORDCAN database 1964-2003, we defined two cohorts of cancer patients, one excluding non-melanoma skin cancer and another also excluding breast and prostate cancer. We estimated age-standardised incidence and mortality rates, 5-year relative survival, and excess mortality rates for varying follow-up periods, and age-specific 5-year relative survival by country, sex and 5-year diagnostic period. RESULTS: Prostate cancer is the main driver of the incidence increase in men, as do breast cancer in women, whereas cancer mortality in all Nordic countries is declining. The 5-year relative survival ratios are increasing in each Nordic population, but less so in Denmark. Country differences in survival stem mainly from follow-up periods immediately after diagnosis. Adjusting for the case-mix of diagnoses diminished differences a little while exclusion of breast and prostate cancer reduced the gap between countries in survival and excess mortality more considerably, yet post-adjustment, Danish patients still fare worse during the first three months after diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Adjustment for case-mix and exclusion of sites where diagnostic procedures change the pattern of incidence is important when comparing overall cancer survival across countries, but the correction only explains part of the observed differences in survival. Other factors such as stage at presentation, co-morbidity, tobacco and alcohol consumption are likely contributors.

NORDCAN--a Nordic tool for cancer information, planning, quality control and research.

UNLABELLED: The NORDCAN database and program ( www.ancr.nu ) include detailed information and results on cancer incidence, mortality and prevalence in each of the Nordic countries over five decades and has lately been supplemented with predictions of cancer incidence and mortality; future extensions include the incorporation of cancer survival estimates. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The data originates from the national cancer registries and causes of death registries in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Faroe Islands and is regularly updated. Presently 41 cancer entities are included in the common dataset, and conversions of the original national data according to international rules ensure comparability. RESULTS: With 25 million inhabitants in the Nordic countries, 130 000 incident cancers are reported yearly, alongside nearly 60 000 cancer deaths, with almost a million persons living with a cancer diagnosis. This web-based application is available in English and in each of the five Nordic national languages. It includes comprehensive and easy-to-use descriptive epidemiology tools that provide tabulations and graphs, with further user-specified options available. DISCUSSION: The NORDCAN database aims to provide comparable and timely data to serve the varying needs of policy makers, cancer societies, the public, and journalists, as well as the clinical and research community.

Trends in survival of patients diagnosed with cancers of the brain and nervous system, thyroid, eye, bone, and soft tissues in the Nordic countries 1964-2003 followed up until the end of 2006.

BACKGROUND: Diagnoses of cancer of the brain, thyroid, eye, bone, and soft tissues are categorised by heterogeneity in disease frequency, survival, aetiology and prospects for curative therapy. In this paper, temporal trends in patient survival in the Nordic countries are considered. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Age-standardised incidence and mortality rates, 5-year relative survival, and excess mortality rates for varying follow-up periods are presented, as are age-specific 5-year relative survival by country, sex and 5-year diagnostic period. RESULTS: Brain cancer incidence rates have been rising but mortality has been relatively stable, with 5-year survival uniformly increasing from the early-1970s, particularly in younger patients. Five-year survival from brain cancer among men varies between 45% and 50% for men and 60% to 70% in women, with excess deaths decreasing with time in each of the Nordic populations. Age-standardised incidence rates of thyroid cancer have been mainly increasing during the 1960s and 1970s, although trends thereafter diverge, with 5-year relative survival increasing 20-30 percentage points over the last 40 years to around 80-90%. Thyroid cancer survival is consistently lower in Denmark, particularly in patients diagnosed aged over 60, while there is less geographic variation in excess deaths three months beyond initial diagnosis. Relative survival from eye cancer increased with time from approximately 60% in 1964-1968 to 80% 1999-2003, while for bone sarcoma, incidence rates remained stable, mortality rates declined, and 5-year survival increased slightly to around 55-65%. Soft tissue sarcoma incidence and survival have been slowly increasing since the 1960s, with little variation in survival (around 65%) for the most recent period. CONCLUSIONS: There have been some notable changes in survival that can be linked to epidemiological and clinical factors in different countries over time. Time-varying proportions of the major histological subtypes might however have affected the survival estimates for a number of the cancer forms reviewed here.

Trends in the survival of patients diagnosed with cancer in female genital organs in the Nordic countries 1964-2003 followed up to the end of 2006.

UNLABELLED: Cancers of the female genital organs constitute more than 12% of all female cancers in the Nordic countries. The group includes cervix uteri, corpus uteri, ovary and other female genital organs including vulva and vagina, and in this study we compare the development in the Nordic countries regarding incidence, mortality and relative survival. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data were retrieved from the NORDCAN database for the period 1964 to 2003, grouped into eight 5-year periods. The patients were followed up until the end of 2006. Analyses comprised trends in 5-year relative survival, excess mortality and age-specific relative survival. RESULTS: A substantial reduction of cervical cancer incidence followed the introduction of population-based screening in the 1970s and was also accompanied by a modest improvement in survival. Incidence trends in cancer of corpus uteri varied between the countries but the survival increased by around 20 percentage points during the study period in all countries. Ovarian cancer patients have the lowest survival among female genital cancers, but survival increased 10-15 percentage points over the 40 years of observation, while the incidence and mortality were rather stable throughout the observed period. Cancers of the other female genital organs, including vulva and vagina, are rare diagnoses and only small changes in incidence, mortality and survival have been observed over time. CONCLUSION: The declining trends in cervical cancer incidence and mortality, and improving survival of corpus uteri cancer patients, are in contrast with the rather poor prognosis associated with an ovarian cancer diagnosis. Cancer-specific differences between countries in the survival of female patients diagnosed with cancers of the cervix uteri, corpus uteri and other female genital organs are small.

Trends in the survival of patients diagnosed with cancers in the respiratory system in the Nordic countries 1964-2003 followed up to the end of 2006.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that there have been systematic differences between the Nordic countries in population-based relative survival of patients with respiratory cancer (lung, pleura, larynx, nose and sinuses). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Relative survival of patients with respiratory cancer diagnosed in the Nordic countries in 1964-2003 and followed up to the end of 2006 was studied and contrasted with developments in incidence and mortality. RESULTS: For cancer of the lung, relative survival is lower in Danish patients than in the other countries during the first months of follow-up after diagnosis. For cancer of pleura, the relative survival ratios indicate that there may be problems in the official coding of the causes of death in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. There has been little improvement in survival of patients with cancer of the respiratory organs in the Nordic countries over time. CONCLUSIONS: The slightly lower survival of Danish lung cancer patients may be related to a less favourable stage distribution and to an increased prevalence of causal factors, affecting the mortality due to competing risks of death. A reclassification of official causes of death at the cancer registry may be needed for cancer of the pleura in order to make the corresponding mortality rates comparable between countries.

Trends in the survival of patients diagnosed with cancers of the lip, oral cavity, and pharynx in the Nordic countries 1964-2003 followed up to the end of 2006.

BACKGROUND: This is the first comprehensive population-based study on relative survival of lip, oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer in the Nordic countries. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Relative survival of patients with cancers of the lip, oral cavity, and pharynx diagnosed in the Nordic countries in 1964-2003 and followed up to the end of 2006 was studied and contrasted with trends in incidence and mortality. RESULTS: There are marked differences in incidence between countries and over time. The stability of the relative survival ratios gives support to the hypothesis that the incidence differences are more likely to be real and not materially affected by differences in definitions and coding. Of particular note are the steep rises in pharyngeal cancer incidence in Denmark in both sexes. Survival has only moderately improved over time and has tended to be slightly higher in females than males. CONCLUSIONS: Co-morbidity caused by smoking and high alcohol consumption are likely to be partially responsible for differences between countries. Advances in therapy and standards of care are also likely to have played a role in the increasing survival trends.

Breast cancer survival in England, Norway and Sweden: a population-based comparison.

Several international studies have found that survival from breast cancer is lower in the United Kingdom than in some other European countries. We have compared breast cancer survival between the national populations of England, Norway and Sweden, with a view to identifying subsets of patients with particularly good or adverse survival outcomes. We extracted cases of breast cancer in women diagnosed 1996-2004 from the national cancer registries of the 3 countries. The study comprised 303,657 English cases, 24,919 Norwegian cases and 57,512 cases from Sweden. Follow-up was in 2001-2004. The main outcome measures were 5-year cumulative relative survival and excess death rates, stratified by age and period of follow-up. In comparison with Norway and Sweden, the excess mortality in England was particularly pronounced in the first month and in the first year after diagnosis, and generally more marked in the oldest age groups. Compared with Norwegian patients, 81% of the excess deaths in the English patients occurred in the first 2 years after diagnosis. Our findings emphasise the importance of awareness of symptoms and early detection as the main strategy to improve breast cancer survival in the United Kingdom.

Trends in survival of patients diagnosed with male genital cancers in the Nordic countries 1964-2003 followed up until the end of 2006.

BACKGROUND: Prostate, testicular and penile cancer constitute about one-third of the cancer incidence burden among Nordic males, but less than one-fifth of the corresponding mortality. The aim of this study is to describe and interpret trends in relative survival and excess mortality in the five Nordic populations. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Age-standardised incidence and mortality rates, 5-year relative survival, and excess mortality rates for varying follow-up periods are presented, as are age-specific 5-year relative survival by country, sex and 5-year diagnostic period. RESULTS: The vast majority of male genital cancer incident cases and deaths are prostate cancers, with 5-year and 10-year survival trends resembling the diagnostic-led increasing incidence over the past 25 years. Five-year prostate cancer survival is estimated at 53% in Denmark compared to 78% or above in the other Nordic populations for patients diagnosed 1999-2003. Excess mortality has declined over time, with Denmark having a greater excess of deaths compared to the other countries, irrespective of time of diagnosis. Concomitant with the declines in testicular cancer mortality, testicular cancer survival has increased since the 1970s in each Nordic country. Men diagnosed with testicular cancer in recent decades have had, on average, a continually better prognosis with time, with relative 5-year survival for patients diagnosed 1999-2003 ranging from 88% in Finland to 94% in Sweden. For the few patients diagnosed with cancer of the penis and other male genital organs, survival trends have been rather stable over time, with recent 5-year relative survival estimates ranging from 62% in Finland to 80% in Norway. CONCLUSIONS: There are intriguing country-specific and temporal variations in male genital cancer survival in the Nordic countries. Prognosis varies widely by cancer site and relates to both changing diagnostic and clinical practices. The increasing PSA detection and biopsy makes interpretation of the prostate cancer survival trends particularly difficult.

Trends in the survival of patients diagnosed with kidney or urinary bladder cancer in the Nordic countries 1964-2003 followed up to the end of 2006.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown systematic differences between the Nordic Countries in population-based relative survival following a kidney or urinary bladder cancer diagnosis. Comparison of bladder cancer over time and between Nordic registries is complicated by variable coding practices with respect to the inclusion of in situ cases with invasive tumours. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Five-year relative survival of patients with urinary cancer diagnosed in the Nordic countries 1964-2003 and followed up for death through 2006 was studied and contrasted with developments in incidence and mortality. RESULTS: The survival following bladder cancer was higher than for kidney cancer and highest for men. Survival increased over the years in all countries, more for kidney cancer than bladder cancer. For Danish kidney cancer patients, the rate of increase over all the years has been lower than in the other countries, especially among women, resulting in a survival in Denmark some 10-20% points lower than elsewhere in 1999-2003. Danish bladder cancer patient survival was in the last period 4% points lower among men and 10% points lower among women than in the other Nordic countries. The differences were mainly found in the first year following diagnosis, where a higher excess mortality in Denmark was observed. Survival decreased with higher age at diagnosis. CONCLUSION: The increasing 5-year relative survival in all the Nordic countries for both kidney and bladder cancer are promising, but for kidney cancer a higher percentage detected coincidentally during an imaging investigation for other diseases could play a role. Denmark had the lowest survival, despite their known practice of including benign conditions with invasive bladder cancers. The lower Danish survival after kidney and bladder cancer in the first year after diagnosis could be due to later diagnosis on average, a higher co-morbidity from smoking-related diseases, and perhaps, less adequate cancer treatment and management in Denmark.