| 1. |
- Capocaccia, R, et al.
(author)
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Measuring cancer prevalence in Europe: the EUROPREVAL project
- 2002
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In: Annals of Oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1569-8041 .- 0923-7534. ; 13:6, s. 831-839
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cancer prevalence is the proportion of individuals in a population who at some stage during their lifetime have been diagnosed with cancer, irrespective of the date of diagnosis. Cancer prevalence statistics have generally been provided by a limited number of well established cancer registries that have been in existence for several decades. The advent of systematic follow-up of life status of incident cases and the availability of new statistical methodologies, now makes it possible for registries established during the 1970s or 1980s to provide prevalence data. The main problems encountered in the estimation of prevalence are the inclusion of: (i) cases lost to follow-up; (ii) cases known only from their death certificate; (iii) cases diagnosed before the start of registration; and (iv) the treatment of multiple tumours and migrations. The main aim of this paper was to review these problems and discuss, through the experience gained with EUROPREVAL, how they can be overcome. A method is presented for the calculation of prevalence of all cancers combined in the populations covered by the 45 cancer registries participating in EUROPREVAL. Prevalence of cancer is estimated to be 2% on average, with the highest values (3%) in Sweden and the lowest in Eastern Europe, with a minimum of approximately 1% in Poland.
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| 2. |
- Gatta, G, et al.
(author)
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Colon cancer prevalence and estimation of differing care needs of colon cancer patients
- 2004
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In: Annals of Oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1569-8041 .- 0923-7534. ; 15:7, s. 1136-1142
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Cancer prevalence-the proportion of people in a population with a diagnosis of cancer-includes groups with widely differing cancer care needs. We estimated the proportions of the prevalent colon cancer cases requiring initial care, terminal care and follow-up. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Prevalence by year since diagnosis was estimated from incidence and vital status data on 243,471 colon cancer cases collected by EUROPREVAL from 36 European population-based cancer registries. The proportions of cured and fatal cases were estimated by applying 'cure' survival models to the dataset. The proportion of recurrence-free cases was estimated by analysis of a representative sample of 278 colon cancer patients from the Lombardy Cancer Registry (LCR), northern Italy. RESULTS: The proportions of total prevalence requiring initial care was estimated at 12% in the LCR and 10% in Italy and Europe. Recurrence-free patients formed 89% of the total prevalence in the LCR and 91% in Italy and Europe. Eleven per cent (LCR) and 9% (Italy, Europe) of the total prevalence had recurred and consisted of patients in the terminal phase of their illness. CONCLUSIONS: In 1992, 660,000 people were living with a diagnosis of colon cancer in Europe. We have estimated the proportions of this prevalence requiring particular types health care in the years following diagnosis, providing data useful for planning the allocation of health-care resources.
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| 3. |
- Micheli, A, et al.
(author)
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Cancer prevalence in European registry areas
- 2002
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In: Annals of Oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1569-8041 .- 0923-7534. ; 13:6, s. 840-865
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Information on cancer prevalence is of major importance for health planning and resource allocation. However, systematic information on cancer prevalence is largely unavailable. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-eight population-based cancer registries from 17 European countries, participating in EUROPREVAL, provided data on almost 3 million cancer patients diagnosed from 1970 to 1992. Standardised data collection and validation procedures were used and the whole data set was analysed using proven methodology. The prevalence of stomach, colon, rectum, lung, breast, cervix uteri, corpus uteri and prostate cancer, as well as of melanoma of skin, Hodgkin's disease, leukaemia and all malignant neoplasms combined, were estimated for the end of 1992. RESULTS: There were large differences between countries in the prevalence of all cancers combined; estimates ranged from 1170 per 100000 in the Polish cancer registration areas to 3050 per 100000 in southern Sweden. For most cancers, the Swedish, Swiss, German and Italian areas had high prevalence, and the Polish, Estonian, Slovakian and Slovenian areas had low prevalence. Of the total prevalent cases, 61% were women and 57% were 65 years of age or older. Cases diagnosed within 2 years of the reference date formed 22% of all prevalent cases. Breast cancer accounted for 34% of all prevalent cancers in females and colorectal cancer for 15% in males. Prevalence tended to be high where cancer incidence was high, but the prevalence was highest in countries where survival was also high. Prevalence was low where general mortality was high (correlation between general mortality and the prevalence of all cancers = -0.64) and high where gross domestic product was high (correlation = +0.79). Thus, the richer areas of Europe had higher prevalence, suggesting that prevalence will increase with economic development. CONCLUSIONS: EUROPREVAL is the largest project on prevalence conducted to date. It has provided complete and accurate estimates of cancer prevalence in Europe, constituting essential information for cancer management. The expected increases in prevalence with economic development will require more resources; allocation to primary prevention should therefore be prioritised.
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