The strength of women, especially Italian women. In Europe, our country “records the highest number of women alive after the diagnosis of cancer in relation to the population: 6,338 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants, equal to approximately 1,939,000 citizens”. Almost 2 million. The experts from AIOM (Italian Association of Medical Oncology) underline the data, gathered in Chicago for the Congress of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Asco).
«In Europe, from 1988 to today – they explain – progress against cancer has saved more than 6 million lives (6,183,000). In the United States, in 30 years (1991-2021), cancer mortality decreased by 33% and over 4 million cancer deaths were avoided. Results obtained thanks to the combination of several factors: reduction of cigarette smoking and greater attention to healthy lifestyles, more early diagnoses thanks to screening, increasingly effective therapies and multidisciplinarity.
A 360-degree attention to patient care, which also determines a constant increase in prevalence, i.e. the number of people living after being diagnosed with cancer. In Europe there are 23.7 million citizens (12.8 million women and 10.9 million men), with an increase of 41% in 10 years (2010-2020)”.
And regarding women, Italy boasts a record in the Old Continent. «It is proof of the excellent level of our healthcare system, which guarantees the best therapies for everyone», states Francesco Perrone, president of Aiom.
«The prevalence – he specifies – includes people in therapy, those who are under surveillance for the prevention of possible relapses and those who have recovered, who do not require further treatment or checks. The Italian figure is significant, to which must be added the over 268 thousand lives saved in our country between 2007 and 2019.”
If overall cancer mortality continues to fall, the incidence is growing globally and in individual countries, the Aiom points out. In the world, in 2022, there were 20 million new cases of cancer. In Italy, in 2023, 395,000 new diagnoses were estimated, with an increase of 18,400 cases in 3 years. In 2024, the population in the US is expected to exceed 2 million for the first time.
«The increase in the burden of disease puts the sustainability of health systems at risk, because it involves an increase in spending due to the high costs of innovative therapies», warns Perrone.
“It is urgent to strengthen primary and secondary prevention programs – he urges – to reduce the number of patients, improve the chances of recovery and offer a good quality of life, as highlighted by Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan”.
