[Incidence of cancer in Spain]

An estimate is made of the number of cancer cases in Spain, broken down according to the part of the body in which the tumors are found and by Regions of the country, using the case number/death rate ratio by tumor location, sex and age group obtained from the Cancer Registry for the Population of Navarra for the 1980-1984 period and the pertinent specific death rates recorded throughout the different Regions of Spain in 1985. Using this method, a yearly number of 120,858 cases of cancer (71,436 men and 49,422 women) is obtained. According to the location of the tumors, the most important ones, with a gross rate of cases per 100,000 inhabitants for men are: lung (63.37), prostate (38.8), bladder (34.9) and stomach (31.4); for women: breast (51.92), body and unspecified part of uterus (21.14), colon (19.73), stomach (19.27) and cervix (19.17). By Regions of Spain, the highest rates are those of Asturias (355.04) and Cantabria (348.43), the lowest being those of Madrid (203.06) and the Canary Islands (217.82). This data can be useful in planning resources for the control and prevention of cancer in Spain.