Cancer death rate continues to fall in 2020

The risk of dying of cancer has fallen significantly over the past five years, with the number of men succumbing to the disease having fallen 5 per cent since 2015 and the number of women having fallen 4 per cent over the same period.

According to an annual study published by a research group led by Carlo La Vecchia at the University of Milan and published in the journal Annals of Oncology, the number of people set to die of cancer in 2020 stands at 1.4 million, some 65,000 more than in 2015, Deutsche press agency (DPA) reported.

The percentage drop controls test subjects for age, while the second figure is given in absolute numbers and takes into account Europe's ageing population. "In the EU, the number of cancer deaths is declining in men - more than half are down to the lower death rate from tobacco-linked lung cancer," La Vecchia said. "In other words, it is because the number of European men who smoke has been dropping for some decades."

The study, based on data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), shows that "tobacco is and remains the main cause of cancer deaths in Europe and makes up 20 per cent of all cancer deaths predicted for 2020," said co-author Eva Negri.