One in four dies of cancer

World Cancer Day: number of cancers continues to increase

03.02.2012

On the occasion of the World Cancer Day, which takes place on Saturday, the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden announces current figures on the topic of cancer. Thus, in 2010, malignant bronchial and lung tumors were the most common cancer causing death. Experts predict that the number of cancers will increase by one third by 2050. The main reason lies in the increasing age of the population, because age is the main risk factor for cancer.

Cancer is the second most common cause of death
Already one in four dies from a cancer. This is shown by the latest figures from the Federal Statistical Office. This makes cancer the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular disease, with 352,689 deaths. In total, 218,889 people died of cancer in 2010, of which 100,687 were women and 118,202 were men. Almost a quarter of them were younger than 65 years.

Malignant lung and bronchial tumors were the most common fatal cancer, killing 42,972 people in 2010. Breast cancer resulted in death in 17,573 cases. With 17,161 and 15,488 cases, colon and pancreatic tumors were the third and fourth leading cause of death.

Number of breast cancers has increased rapidly
According to an evaluation of the KKH alliance, the number of Kebserkrankungen in Germany has risen rapidly. The analysis shows that the number of breast cancer cases among the insured persons of the statutory health insurance increased from approximately 17,000 to over 24,000 from 2006 to 2010. The comparison was similar for prostate cancer. During the same period, the number of cases increased from about 8,500 to more than 12,000. The KKH alliance takes this as an opportunity to remind its insured about the cancer screening, which should take place once a year.

Absolutely go to the cancer screening
Screening and cancer screening are key tools in the fight against cancer. The sooner an appropriate diagnosis is made, the greater the chances of recovery. According to an evaluation of the insurance data from the year 2010, the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) comes to the conclusion that men are much less likely than women to prevent cancer. Only 26 percent of men use the offer in the described period. Although the statutory health insurance companies pay the examination once a year from the age of 45, just over a quarter use the opportunity for early detection.

The TK also announced that women took advantage of the offer on a much larger scale. In 2010, about 59 percent of women went to cancer screening, which is taken over by their statutory health insurance already at the age of 20. The readiness for such investigations is therefore much earlier in women „trained“. (Ag)

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Picture: Sigrid Rossmann