Pablo Fernández Navarro
Scientific researcher at the Cancer and Environmental Epidemiology Unit of the National Epidemiology Centre, Carlos III Health Institute, member of CIBERESP and co-coordinator of the Cancer Epidemiological Surveillance Sub-programme - VICA of CIBERESP
Monitoring the situation of cancer, which is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in the world, is crucial to be able to control the impact of this disease on the population. In order to measure this impact, it is necessary to know its magnitude, and to do so, different types of indicators are calculated (mortality, incidence, etc.). These indicators provide very relevant information for the planning of preventive and evaluative activities that can reduce mortality or incidence or improve health care.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organisation (WHO), through its Global Cancer Observatory (GCO), provides updated cancer statistics by country and world region, related to the above-mentioned indicators, following a methodology appropriate to the objective pursued.
The latest estimates on the global burden of this disease for 2022, which are presented in a clearer format than those already available for 2020, show at a general level that lung, breast, colorectal and prostate tumours continue to occupy the main positions in terms of the burden of this disease.
Specifically for Spain, it can be seen that there has been an increase in some incidence rates such as breast cancer and a decrease in others such as prostate cancer compared to 2020. The regional and temporal variations of these indicators, which will surely contribute to the surveillance and control of cancer in the population, will have to be analysed in depth.