Epidemiological data enables a scientific approach to prevention problems.

Here are some general definitions

Incidence may be calculated according to the formula :

This rate is generally expressed for a population of 100,000 or one million. Incidence rate may be global (confounding all ages) or only concern a given age or part of the population. Since life expectancy varies among continents, this rate can be adjusted to a standardised French population or World population.

Incidence is calculated through population registries.

Mortality is calculated in a similar way by the study of death certificates or population registries which collect this information.

Prevalence is not very important for epidemiology or prevention, but is fundamental for the study of the economical impact of a disease. It enables the estimation of how many patients should be treated per year.

Prevalence (of cancer) is calculated as

Some figures

In our region (Normandy), we are fortunate to have registries in each of the two geographical 'Départements':Calvados and Manche. Scientific data is therefore well adapted to our daily practice.

We can extrapolate these figures for France.

Cancer Incidence in Calvados and in France (in French)

Number of annual cancers and cancer mortality in France (in French)

Incidence of male cancers in Europe

Incidence of female cancers in Europe

You also can consult data on cancer incidence and mortality for the world on the International Centre for Research on Cancer (IARC) website. The data shows major variations from one country to another and the importance of standardising results according to the spontaneous mortality of each region.

These figures already enable very simple observations on the number of cancers related to tobacco and alcoholism in our region.