There are serious differences between the sexes in cancer mortality. In men, the mortality rates for stomach cancer and leukaemia are particularly sharply reduced, while in women it is ovarian cancer and also leukaemia. Looking at the last five years, from 2015 to 2020, the risk of cancer mortality decreases by five percent for men and only four percent for women. Men in Germany die most from lung and prostate cancer (28,700 and 15,500), while women would die from breast and lung cancer (18,900 and 18,100), according to the forecast. However, La Vecchia and team still observe dangerous downward trends. While mortality rates are falling across the EU, especially for lung cancer and other smoking-related cancers such as head and neck cancer and bladder cancer, there is an almost 5% increase in women in Germany and other EU countries. There is a clear downward trend for men, with the death rate for men from lung cancer falling by eleven percent in Germany alone. However, tobacco consumption still accounts for 20 percent of all predicted cancer deaths in Europe. This is why we urgently advise against smoking because it is precisely the smoking habits of earlier times among women that are decisive for the high death rates. In addition, the mortality rate for prostate cancer also decreases by seven percent if the prediction is calculated age-adjusted. This year, 78,800 men will die of prostate cancer in Europe. However, Poland is out of the ordinary here, although the Polish population had the lowest rate in Europe between 1970 and 74. In Poland, it is striking that the death rate for prostate cancer has risen by 18 percent since 2015. La Vecchia has only limited explanations. Perhaps delayed use of modern diagnostic and treatment methods is the reason for the high rates that have recently occurred.
