Trends in corpus uteri cancer mortality in member states of the European Union
The burden of corpus uteri cancer (CRP) varies in the European Union (EU). We analysed trends in CRP mortality in 26 EU member states from 1970 onward.
METHODS:
Population numbers and number of uterine cancer deaths were extracted from the World Health Organization mortality database. CRP mortality rates were corrected for certification problems (cause of death recorded as uterine cancer not otherwise specified, NOS) using different reallocation rules for deaths registered as NOS, or using mixed disease codes. Join point regression was used to study the annual percentage change of age-standardised CRP mortality rates. Changes in CRP mortality rates by calendar period and standardised cohort mortality ratios (SCMR) were also estimated.
RESULTS:
In 2008, 12,903 women died from CRP in the EU. Corrected age-standardised CRP mortality rates have decreased significantly over the past decades in most member states, with exception of Malta and Bulgaria, where rates increased; Greece, where rates remained low but stable; and Sweden, where rates have been stable since 1970. Original member states showed a steeper decrease than newer member states. The SCMR indicated that CRP mortality does not decrease further, nor does it increase, among women born after 1940, although these birth cohorts may still be too young for CRP incidence to be fully evaluated.
CONCLUSIONS:
Our corrected CRP mortality rates showed a decrease in most EU member states among women born before 1940.