Summary
Background
Despite a recent decline in smoking behavior in many European
countries, lung cancer rates remain high, especially in Central and Eastern
Europe. This paper aims to describe trends in smoking behavior and lung
cancer incidence and mortality, including histopathological classification
of lung cancer, in a Central European country: Austria.
Methods
Using data from the Austrian Central Cancer Registry, we calculated
age-standardized incidence, histopathology-specific incidence, and
age-standardized and birth cohort-specific mortality rates for all lung
cancer cases in Austria. Using national survey data, we estimated prevalence
of smoking in the Austrian population. Our analysis covers the time period
from 1970 to 2009.
Results
In 2009, lung cancer incidence rates were 41.3/100,000 and
18.5/100,000 and mortality rates were 36.3/100,000 and14.5/100,000, for
males and females, respectively. Male lung cancer rates declined but
increased steadily in females over the past three decades. In 2009, the most
common histological type is adenocarcinoma, which reflects a shift from
predominantly squamous cell carcinoma and large cell carcinoma in the mid
1980s. In 2009, 27 % of men and 19 % of women were smokers, which represent
a rise of smoking rates in women, especially in younger women, and a decline
in the men.
Conclusions
While in Austrian men the lung cancer rates, in accordance with their
decreasing prevalence of smoking, declined over the past 30 years, the
increasing smoking prevalence and lung cancer rates in women remain a public
health concern. Antismoking laws and public health initiatives to curtail
smoking habits are needed in Austria, especially targeting younger
women.