Friday, January 1, 2010

Cancer Death Rates Among 50 Countries

Bar charts are presented for all cancer sites combined and several specific cancer sites. These charts depict the cancer mortality rates 1986-88 in 50 countries around the world. The rates used are the number of cancer deaths per 100,000 population and are age-adjusted to the world standard (Parkin, 1992).

The cancer mortality rates for each of the 50 countries are ranked from the highest to the lowest. Separate graphs are shown for males and females. There is a four-fold difference between the lowest (54.4 in Thailand) and highest (235.4 in Hungary) male cancer mortality rates. The difference between the lowest and highest rates for female cancer mortality is not as striking (36.4 in Thailand vs. 139.4 in Denmark), a little less than four-fold. For males, the United States ranks 24th (163.2 per 100,000) from the highest; for females, the United States ranks 17th (109.7 per 100,000) out of 50 countries. For both males and females, the cancer mortality rates for the United States are in the middle. Cancer mortality is generally higher among males. It should be noted that Thailand's mortality rates look unusually low in that they are low for every site presented.

The death rates for all cancer sites combined provide an overview of the burden of cancer by country and sex. Cancer death rates for specific cancers may vary widely among countries, and an overall rate may obscure these site-specific patterns. The dynamic nature of these overall demographic patterns and rates is better understood by comparing mortality rates for specific cancers.

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