Lung cancer deaths in women increased in 27 European countries

A large European study on mortality from lung cancer in women showed an increase in all European countries except six of the 33 studied.

The study, published on the website of the "Annals of Oncology", focused on women aged 20-64 years in the 25 countries of the European Union, the countries of Eastern Europe and Russia.

It shows that female mortality from lung cancer increased from 7.8 per 100,000 women in the early 80s to 11.2 per 100,000 in 2000-01. For comparison, the mortality rate is 24 deaths per 100,000 in the United States, where lung cancer has become the leading cause of cancer deaths among women.

The authors calculated that in Europe, mortality increased at an annual rate of 1.5% between 1965 and 1971, 2.6% between 1972 and 1987 and 1.4% from 1998 to the end of the study.

An analysis by age was performed. Between the early 90s and 2000-01 mortality in younger (20-44 years) increased by 11.41% against an increase of 21.1% in older (35-64 years).

If the overall lower number of deaths among younger women make slightly less clear figures, the trend is proved "more favorable" than in the group of older women, the authors write.

"If effective interventions against tobacco are implemented with women, the epidemic of lung cancer among European women should not reach the levels seen in the United States," they say.

England and Wales of Wales are among the countries where the mortality at all ages has declined in recent years (with Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine), although the rates are still very high (19.75 deaths per 100,000). Younger British women, the rate has dropped, from 1.56 per 100,000 in 1990-1991 to 1.19 per 100,000 in 2000-2001.

In France, the mortality for all age groups increased steadily, reaching 7.31 per 100,000 in 2000. French youth, the rate almost doubled between 1990 to 1991 (1.08 per 100,000) and 2000 (2.12 per 100,000).

While France may be expected that this mortality rate continues to increase due to the number of smokers in the long term, the country should be able to record a decline since the number of new smokers began to decline, told Reuters Health lead author Dr. Cristina Bosetti, Institute of Pharmacological Research in Milan.

To reduce mortality, it recommends that governments not only increase taxes on tobacco and to ban smoking in public places, but also to target women and children in campaigns against smoking.

The highest mortality rates in countries such as the UK can be attributed to new habits adopted by women in the 40s, said Dr. Cristina Bosetti.

"After the Second World War, the emancipation of women passing by smoking and greater alcohol consumption (in the UK). In countries like France and Italy, this movement came later" she adds.

The high U.S. mortality rates, which decreases after a peak about five years ago to 26 deaths per 100,000, could be attributed to the same causes, the American who started smoking in the 30s.