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SummaryBackgroundA deceleration in the increase in cancer incidence in children and adolescents has been reported in several national and regional studies in Europe. Based on a large database representing 1·3 billion person-years over the period 1991–2010, we provide a consolidated report on cancer incidence trends at ages 0–19 years.MethodsWe invited all population-based cancer registries operating in European countries to participate in this population-based registry study. We requested a listing of individual records of cancer cases, including sex, age, date of birth, date of cancer diagnosis, tumour sequence number, primary site, morphology, behaviour, and the most valid basis of diagnosis. We also requested population counts in each calendar year by sex and age for the registration area, from official national sources, and specific information about the covered area and registration practices. An eligible registry could become a contributor if it provided quality data for all complete calendar years in the period 1991–2010. Incidence rates and the average annual percentage change with 95% CIs were reported for all cancers and major diagnostic groups, by region and overall, separately for children (age 0–14 years) and adolescents (age 15–19 years). We examined and quantified the stability of the trends with joinpoint analyses.FindingsFor the years 1991–2010, 53 registries in 19 countries contributed a total of 180 335 unique cases. We excluded 15 162 (8·4%) of 180 335 cases due to differing practices of registration, and considered the quality indicators for the 165 173 cases included to be satisfactory. The average annual age-standardised incidence was 137·5 (95% CI 136·7–138·3) per million person-years and incidence increased significantly by 0·54% (0·44–0·65) per year in children (age 0–14 years) with no change in trend. In adolescents, the combined European incidence was 176·2 (174·4–178·0) per million person-years based on all 35 138 eligible cases and increased significantly by 0·96% (0·73–1·19) per year, although recent changes in rates among adolescents suggest a deceleration in this increasing trend. We observed temporal variations in trends by age group, geographical region, and diagnostic group. The combined age-standardised incidence of leukaemia based on 48 458 cases in children was 46·9 (46·5–47·3) per million person-years and increased significantly by 0·66% (0·48–0·84) per year. The average overall incidence of leukaemia in adolescents was 23·6 (22·9–24·3) per million person-years, based on 4702 cases, and the average annual change was 0·93% (0·49–1·37). We also observed increasing incidence of lymphoma in adolescents (average annual change 1·04% [0·65–1·44], malignant CNS tumours in children (average annual change 0·49% [0·20–0·77]), and other tumours in both children (average annual change 0·56 [0·40–0·72]) and adolescents (average annual change 1·17 [0·82–1·53]).InterpretationImprovements in the diagnosis and registration of cancers over time could partly explain the observed increase in in...

Existing evidence is inconclusive on whether socioeconomic status (SES) and educational inequalities influence colorectal cancer (CRC) risk, and whether low or high SES/educational level is associated with developing CRC. The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between educational level and CRC. We studied data from 400,510 participants in the EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study, of whom 2,447 developed CRC (colon: 1,551, rectum: 896, mean follow‐up 8.3 years). Cox proportional hazard regression analysis stratified by age, gender and center, and adjusted for potential confounders were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Relative indices of inequality (RII) for education were estimated using Cox regression models. We conducted separate analyses for tumor location, gender and geographical region. Compared with participants with college/university education, participants with vocational secondary education or less had a nonsignificantly lower risk of developing CRC. When further stratified for tumor location, adjusted risk estimates for the proximal colon were statistically significant for primary education or less (HR 0.73, 95%CI 0.57–0.94) and for vocational secondary education (HR 0.76, 95%CI 0.58–0.98). The inverse association between low education and CRC risk was particularly found in women and Southern Europe. These associations were statistically significant for CRC, for colon cancer and for proximal colon cancer. In conclusion, CRC risk, especially in the proximal colon, is lower in subjects with a lower educational level compared to those with a higher educational level. This association is most pronounced in women and Southern Europe.

Screening has strongly influenced recent BC trends among Spanish women aged > or =45 years. Our results support the influence of screening saturation on the recent decline of BC. Among younger women, incidence is still rising, probably reflecting the lifestyle changes observed in younger generations.