North Region of Portugal

Cancer survival improvements in the north region of Portugal during the 2001-2010 were not universal for all cancer sites. A significant increase in net survival was observed for stomach, colon, pancreas, larynx, melanoma, breast, brain and central nervous system, thyroid, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma. No significant changes in survival were found for gynaecological tumours neither for oesophagus, rectum, liver, prostate, kidney and bladder cancer.

Cancer incidence will keep rising up to 2020, in the North Region of Portugal. According to the North Region Cancer Registry (RORENO), 10236 new cases will be diagnosed in that year. Women will experience the steepest increase, mainly due to thyroid and lung cancers. For the same period, a decreasing trend in the number of new cases is expected for cancer of the cervix. This study contributed to a broader understanding of the population’s cancer burden, useful for the implementation of cancer control measures.

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