9.582-024/10

Vienna, 3 February 2010 – Every year, about 19 000 new cases of malignant cancer in males and 17 000 in females are diagnosed in Austria whereas about 9 000 women and 11 000 men die from cancer. Cancer therefore accounts for about a quarter of all deaths. The most common cancer site continues to be prostate cancer for men and breast cancer for women. According to the cancer register of Statistics Austria, age-standardized incidence and mortality rates tend to decline over the last years, at least partly due to earlier diagnoses and better treatments. For the first time also cancer prevalence, the number of all living cancer patients in a population, is available. At the end of the year 2007 300 134 people were living in Austria who had previously been diagnosed with cancer at one point throughout their lives, thereof 128 364 men and 171 770 women. This number corresponds to 3.6% of the Austrian population.

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