Lung cancer (ICD-9 162)

Incidence of lung cancer among men in Sweden, Norway and Iceland (271-339/10⁶) was about one half of that in the other areas. The highest rates, exceeding 1000/10⁶, were seen in parts of Russia.

In women, the highest rates were in Iceland and Denmark (231-295/10⁵ ), while the rate in most other areas was below 80/10⁵. In most countries there was a tendency to a marked urban excess of lung cancer in females (but not in males).

The mortality rate was typically about 90% of the incidence rate, with the exception of Denmark and Lithuania where mortality exceeded incidence (cf. Material and Methods).

The shape of the age curves was similar in all countries with a steep increase from the age of 30 to 50 and a decrease after the age of 75.

Smoking causes some 90% of lung cancer cases. The spatial pattern of lung cancer reflects the spatial pattern of smoking. Smoking among rural women in many countries was not accepted in earlier decades which today is seen as low lung cancer rates in rural areas. The decrease in incidence after the age of 75 uniformly seen in all countries is explained by the fact that most heavy smokers die before that age, and the oldest age groups therefore are enriched by non-smokers.