Premature Mortality Due to Malignancies of the Central Nervous System in Canada, 1980–2010

Abstract

Background: In this study, we investigated whether there has been an improvement in premature mortality due to central nervous system (CNS) cancers among the Canadian population from 1980 through 2010. Methods: Mortality data for CNS cancers were obtained from World Health Organization mortality database. Years of life lost (YLL) was estimated using Canadian life tables. Average lifespan shortened (ALSS) was calculated and defined as the ratio of YLL relative to the expected lifespan. Results: Over this study period, we observed decreases in age standardized rates to the World Standard Population for mortality due to CNS cancers from 5.3 to 4.1 per 100,000 men, and from 3.6 to 2.9 per 100,000 women. Average YLL decreased from 23.6 to 21.5 years of life among men, and from 27.0 to 23.1 years among women in 1980 and 2010, respectively. The ALSS showed that men with CNS cancers lost 30.1% of their life span and women lost 32.5% in 1980, whereas they lost 25.8 and 26.6% in 2010, respectively. Conclusion: Our study shows that ­Canadian people with CNS cancers have had their lives prolonged at the end of the study period.

Premature deaths due to head and neck cancers in canada: A nationwide analysis from 1980 to 2010

“…[17][18][19] As described in previous studies, we proposed a novel measure called ALSS in addition to existing life-lost indicators. [9][10][11] The calculation of YLL over a long period required several different life tables, which made the comparison over time of the total YLL and AYLL more challenging. Therefore, our new ALSS measure allows for a more intuitive interpretation of the findings.…”

“…The ALSS was calculated as a ratio of YLL compared to the expected lifespan based on the respective life table. Previously published articles detail the utility of our novel ALSS measure, and outline how the ALSS is calculated using two hypothetical examples provided in the Materials and Methods section . In general, the ALSS indicates an average, expressed by percentage, of the lifespan shortened among all people who died from a particular health condition.…”

“…To address the aforementioned comparability issue, we recently proposed a novel measure of premature mortality. We refer to this as average lifespan shortened (ALSS), which is the ratio of the actual YLL to the expected lifespan for individuals if they had not died prematurely of a particular health condition …”

“…We refer to this as average lifespan shortened (ALSS), which is the ratio of the actual YLL to the expected lifespan for individuals if they had not died prematurely of a particular health condition. [9][10][11] To our knowledge, there have been no previous studies investigating the long-term trends of premature mortality for head and neck cancers in Canada. Our study aimed to use national mortality data to estimate premature mortality caused by head and neck cancers from 1980 through 2010 and to demonstrate the utility of our new premature mortality measure of ALSS.…”

Premature Mortality Due to Malignancies of the Kidney and Bladder in Japan, 1980–2010

“…We have already demonstrated the utility of this novel measure in evaluating premature mortality from breast and the central nervous system cancers among the Canadian population. 9 , 10…”