[The course of cancer mortality in Hungary between 1975 and 2001]

The course of cancer mortality in this country between 1975 and 2001 was analysed solely with mathematical methods using the mortality data provided by the Central Statistical Office. Mortality data were studied according to patient s sex and tumour localisation and in relation to total cancer mortality. The increase and decrease in cancer mortality were found to differ by sex and tumour localisation: e.g. death rate caused by cancers of the oral cavity showed low deviation with an even increase just like the mortality caused by colorectal cancer, the latter, however, was steeper with men. In case of melanoma higher deviation was associated with increased mortality, again at a higher rate with men. Dying of testicular cancer and of gastric cancer in either sex showed decreasing tendencies. Lung cancer mortality assumed different patterns in the two genders: with men it kept increasing at an even pace until 1994 then the increase stopped. With women, however, the increase since 1985 was steeper than earlier. The breast cancer mortality rates can also be divided into two periods. There was an even rise until 1994 followed by stagnation. As to the total cancer mortality values, the authors state that the rhythm of increase during the first 20 years of the study period had changed, the steepness of trends in the last seven years can be expressed in a small positive number not differing from zero at significant level which means that the increase in cancer mortality has stopped.