Long-term survival expectations of cancer patients in Europe in 2000-2002

Period analysis has been shown to provide more up-to-date estimates of long-term cancer survival rates than traditional cohort-based analysis. Here, we provide detailed period estimates of 5- and 10-year relative survival by cancer site, country, sex and age for calendar years 2000-2002. In addition, pan-European estimates of 1-, 5- and 10-year relative survival are provided. Overall, survival estimates were mostly higher than previously available cohort estimates. For most cancer sites, survival in countries from Northern Europe, Central Europe and Southern Europe was substantially higher than in the United Kingdom and Ireland and in countries from Eastern Europe. Furthermore, relative survival was also better in female than in male patients and decreased with age for most cancer sites. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.