The Economic Burden of Cancer in Spain: A Literature Review

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the European Union (EU) after diseases of the circulatory system [1]. In 2012, the estimated number of new cases of cancer was 3.4 million (1.8 million occurring in men, 1.6 million occurring in women) and 1.75 million people (976,000 men, 779,000 women) died from cancer in the EU member states [2]. Estimates of incidence in Spain from the most recent studies range from 208,000 to 215,500 new cancer cases, and the number of total cancer deaths was estimated at approximately 102,700 [2,3]. When focusing on different cancer sites, prostate, lung and colorectal were the most common cancers among men. Breast cancer was the most common cancer in women, followed by colorectal and corpus uteri cancers. However, the ranking of cancers by frequency of death differed from the ranking for incidence. Lung cancer was the most frequent cause of death from cancer in men, followed by colorectal cancer and prostate cancers, while breast cancer was the leading cause of death in women, followed by colorectal and lung cancers. Overall, the cancer burden profile throughout Spain is similar to that in Europe [2]. Thus, cancers of the lung, colorectal, breast in women, and prostate in men accounted for nearly half of all new cases [3].