The prevalence of cancer in Sweden 1984

A total of 772,492 (99.3%) of all patients with a newly diagnosed malignant disease notified to the National Swedish Cancer Registry during 1958 through 1984 could be followed up with respect to survival or emigration by means of computerized record linkages. The number of cancer patients still alive on December 31, 1984, totalling 194,389, was divided by the appropriate population denominator. The crude prevalence rate in Sweden of individuals who have or have had any cancer was 1,840 per 10(5) in males and 2,808 per 10(5) in females. At ages 40 through 59, the rates in females were 2.2 to 2.5 times higher than those in males, whereas after the age of 75 cancer was more prevalent in males. Prostate cancer was the most common tumour in males, 24.5% of the crude prevalence rate (451 per 10(5), followed by colorectal cancer, cancer of the bladder and malignant melanoma. In females, the breast was the dominating cancer site, accounting for 32.7% (917 per 10(5), followed by cancer of the large bowel, uterine corpus and uterine cervix. We conclude that prevalence rates provide important information about the magnitude of the cancer problem over and above that revealed by incidence and mortality statistics. The high, and probably increasing, prevalence rates over time emphasize that important savings in economic and other resources can be achieved by strictly evaluated and cost-effective regimens for follow-up.