The Canadian Cancer Society says 139 900 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in Canada in 2003, and 67 400 people will die from the disease. Males will account for approximately 51% of new cases and 53% of the deaths.
Lung cancer alone is expected to cause 30% of cancer deaths in males this year (10 900), and 25% in females (7900). Breast cancer will kill 5300 women, while prostate cancer will claim 4200 men. For all cancers, the age-standardized mortality rate among men peaked in 1988 at 254.7 cases per 100 000 population, but it has now decreased to an expected rate of 223.7 cases per 100 000 in 2003. The age-standardized incidence rate increased slightly for males each year in the early 1990s, but then began to decline. In 2003, the age-standardized incidence rate is expected to be 439.2 per 100 000 for men, compared with 494.0 per 100 000 in 1993. For women, the incidence rate has risen from 330.0 cases per 100 000 in 1989 to an expected 347.9 in 2003. However, the mortality rate for females has declined since then, from 153.1 to an expected rate of 150.5 in 2003. — Tara S. Chauhan, CMA