Cancer control in Europe, A proposed set of European Cancer Health Indicators

Cancer is a major health problem in Europe. The number of cases diagnosed annually (incidence) has been growing steadily for at least the last 20 years.1 This increase reflects increasing life expectancy at birth with a consequent shift in the age-distribution of the population toward the elderly, as it has been observed in all industrialised countries.2 On the other hand, in most of these countries the age-adjusted incidence and mortality rates for some major cancers such as the tobacco-related cancers and stomach cancer are no longer increasing. Over the same period, the prognosis for all cancers combined has been improving throughout Europe.3–5 Two corollaries are the widening range of medical services available for cancer patients and an increase in the cost and complexity of treating cancer. There is now greater information on th