One in 50 Europeans are living with cancer or are in remission

Europe's first cancer prevalence study has shown that people in western European countries are more likely to be living with cancer than those in eastern Europe, partly because of high survival rates and longer life expectancy.

The Europreval study, published as two papers in this month's issue of the Annals of Oncology (2002;13:831-9, 840-65), included more than three million cancer patients in 45 registries. Rich nations such as Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy have the highest prevalence of cancer in Europe, whereas Poland, Estonia, Slovakia, and Slovenia have the lowest. England had the 10th highest rates out of 17 countries listed, and …