Everything about the disease in Switzerland

Everything about the disease in Switzerland


Day against cancer: know everything about the disease in Switzerland

Whether directly or indirectly, cancer affects almost everyone at least once in their life.Image: Shutterstock/watson

Cancer is one of the diseases that arouse the most anxiety and concerns. Almost everyone is confronted with it, whether directly or through a close close to this disease. On the occasion of World Cancer Day, here is an encrypted inventory.

Philipp Reich

Exposure to the sun, tobacco, an unhealthy diet or an unbalanced lifestyle: we know all the warnings on carcinogenic substances. However, these recommendations are often taken lightly on a daily basis.

The reality is however relentless: each year, thousands of people receive a diagnosis of cancer, and many die. In 2023, cancer was the second cause of mortality in Switzerland, just after cardiovascular disease. According to the Federal Statistics Office, around 17,067 people died of cancer last year, including 7,629 women and 9,438 men, with an average age of 75 years.

Understand cancer

Cancer brings together more than 300 different diseases. Few cancers are hereditary, most developing over the course of life. According to the Swiss league against cancer, it is a genetic alteration of cells, transforming them into tumor cells which multiply uncontrolled and invade the healthy tissues.

When cancer appears, normal cells in the body change and become tumor cells. They multiply uncontrolled and invade the healthy fabrics.

When cancer appears, normal cells in the body change and become tumor cells. They multiply uncontrolled and invade the healthy fabrics. Image: Shutterstock

We distinguish benign tumors, which remain localized, and malignant tumors, which propagate in the body in the form of metastases, which can be fatal.

The most frequent cancers

In Switzerland, around 46,500 new cancer cases are diagnosed each year. Prostate cancer is the most common in men (7,800 cases per year), while breast cancer is the most common in women (6,600 cases per year). Among other common forms, there are lung, colon and clever melanoma cancer.

What cancers are the most deadly?

Not all cancers are deadly on the same degree. Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death, Representing 26.1% in men and 16.4% in women in 2023. Follow prostate cancer in men (15.1%) and breast cancer in women (15.2%). The survival rate is particularly low for pancreatic cancer: 85% of patients died within five years of diagnosis.

This high mortality is explained by late detection, rapid growth and complex surgery.

Evolution over the years

Between 1992 and 2021, statistics showed an increase in new cases and deaths. About 1223 more people die from cancer each year compared to the period 1992-1996. The number of diagnoses has increased even more strongly, with approximately 17,220 additional cases per year.

However, this increase is largely explained by the increase in the population and its aging. In 1996, Switzerland had 7.07 million inhabitants, compared to 8.71 million in 2021.

What about the future?

In 2022, The number of people with cancer worldwide was estimated at 20 millionof which 9.7 million died. And the projections are alarming: a study by the University of Queensland predicts an increase of 77% of cases by 2050, reaching 35.3 million, and an increase of 90% of deaths, or 18.5 million dead.

Here's what lung cancer looks like.

Here’s what lung cancer looks like.Image: Shutterstock

The poorest countries will be the most affected, with a possible multiplication by three of cases and deaths. Lung cancer should remain the most widespread and deadliest, representing nearly a fifth of the death -related deaths. Men will be more affected than women, with an expected incidence up 84% against 68% for women.

Cancer remains a major threat to public health, with constantly increasing figures. Better prevention, earlier screening and progress in treatments will be essential to influence these disturbing trends.

Translated and adapted from German by Léa Krejci

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