Ovarian and tubal cancer in Denmark: An update on incidence and survival

abstract
 

Introduction

The Nordic countries are high-incidence areas of ovarian cancer, however, differences between the countries exist.

Material and Methods

We used the Danish Cancer Registry to identify 11 264 cases of ovarian cancer and 363 cases of tubal cancer during 1993–2013. We calculated age-standardized (WSTP) incidence rates for overall and subtype-specific ovarian cancer, and for tubal cancer. We compared age-standardized incidence rates, and 1- and 5-year age-standardized relative survival rates, respectively, for ovarian and tubal cancer combined in four Nordic countries using the NORDCAN database.

Results

The incidence rate of ovarian cancer overall in Denmark decreased statistically significant by approximately 2.3% per year among women aged <70 years, whereas no change was seen among women aged 70+ years. In the <70 age-group, the incidence of serous tumors was fairly steady, whereas that of other and unspecified epithelial tumors decreased significantly by 6.4% per year. The incidence of tubal cancer was quite stable. In Norway and Finland, the incidence rates of ovarian and tubal cancer combined decreased from 1993 to 2013 in women aged <70 years, whereas in Sweden the incidence rates decreased independently of age. The 1- and 5-year relative survival rates of ovarian and tubal cancer combined increased during the study period in all the Nordic countries. Denmark had the lowest survival, however, the survival rates approached those of the other countries in recent years.

Conclusions

In Denmark, the positive development in ovarian cancer has continued during recent years with a lower incidence and an increased survival.