Almost every second German develops cancer during their lifetime

 

"According to calculations by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), almost every second person in Germany develops cancer at some point in their life. At the same time, mortality rates have fallen significantly.

 

Cancer remains one of the most common serious diseases in Germany: According to current figures from the Robert Koch Institute, almost every second person develops it during their lifetime. The statistical risk is therefore 49 percent for men and 43 percent for women.  Nationwide, nearly 518,000 new cancer cases were diagnosed in 2023.

 

As the institute announced on the occasion of World Cancer Day on February 4, around 229,000 people died of cancer in Germany in 2023, according to mortality statistics. This included 123,000 men and 106,000 women.

 

Cancer mortality rates have fallen significantly over the past 25 years, provided that the effects of the increasing number of older people due to demographic change are factored out. According to the RKI, the decrease in the mortality rate was 31 percent for men and 21 percent for women.  The number of new cancer cases has also continued to show a slight decline in age-standardized terms, according to the statistics.

The most common types of cancer

 

Men are by far most frequently affected by prostate cancer, while breast cancer is the most common diagnosis for women. The second most common types of cancer in both sexes are lung and colorectal cancer. According to the RKI, these four types of cancer accounted for almost half of all cases recorded in the national cancer registry in 2023.  Furthermore, malignant tumors of the lung, colon, pancreas, and breast together caused almost half of all cancer-related deaths.

 

As the RKI further explained in its new epidemiological bulletin, a slightly declining trend in age-standardized incidence rates has recently been observed for cervical cancer. An official vaccination recommendation has been in place for this type of cancer since 2007. The Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) recommended the HPV vaccine for adolescent girls, a recommendation that was later extended to adolescent boys. The age limit for vaccination was also lowered.

 

According to the institute, the incidence rate among women aged 20 to 34 decreased continuously from 7.8 per 100,000 in 2015 to 4.3 in 2023.  This, they wrote, shows "the first protective effects of the vaccination at the population level." However, the vaccination rates against cervical cancer are still "in need of improvement" compared to international standards.

 

For breast cancer, a slight increase in age-standardized incidence rates has been observed over time in younger age groups. For example, among women aged 30 to 49, the rate was 85.9 per 100,000 in 1999, rising to 107.8 in 2023. In this context, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) pointed out that nationwide mammography screening was introduced in 2009.”