Highlights
- •33% of all cancer cases in men and 44% in women were possibly avoidable in Europe.
- •Lung, colorectal and breast cancer comprised the largest number of avoidable cases.
- •There is large variation in the proportion of avoidable cancer cases across Europe.
Abstract
Objective
The aim of this study is to provide an update of the estimated proportion of avoidable
cases across European region for cancers associated with modifiable risk factors.
Methods
Age-standardised incidence rates for 38 European countries in 2020 were derived from
GLOBOCAN database. For 17 cancer sites, we estimated the number and proportion of
avoidable cancer cases. The mean of the three lowest country-specific incidence (excluding
rates of zero) was defined as the attainable rate for each combination of cancer site,
sex, and age group. The number and proportion of avoidable cancer cases was calculated
as the difference between the country-specific and attainable incidence rates.
Results
Approximately, 697,000 cancer cases (33%) of all cases in men, and 837,000 (44%) in
women were potentially avoidable. Lung, colorectal, and female breast cancer contributed
the largest avoidable burden from cancer, with a combined 790,000 cases, followed
by mesothelioma, melanoma of the skin, laryngeal, and oesophageal cancer as major
contributors. Large geographical variations were found in the estimated proportion
of avoidable cancer cases by sex.
Conclusions
A cohesive population-level preventative effort to reduce modifiable cancer risk factors
could potentially have considerable impact in reducing the future burden of many cancers
in Europe.
Keywords
Abbreviations:
AC (avoidable cancer), ASR (age-standardised rate), HBV (Hepatitis B virus), HCV (Hepatitis C virus), H. pylori (Helicobacter pylori), HPV (Human papillomavirus), UN (United Nations), WHO (World Health Organisation)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 27, 2022
Accepted:
September 28,
2022
Received in revised form:
September 27,
2022
Received:
July 14,
2022
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
