The number of cancer cases diagnosed in Spain in 2025 is estimated to reach 296,103 cases, a decade ago there were 247,771 cases. By age groups, the cases will be distributed throughout this year as follows: under 45 years old there will be 16,508 cases; between 45 and 65, there will be 102,614; and over 65, 176,981.
The document 'The figures of cancer in Spain in 2024' conducted by the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM) has radiographed, as every year, the disease in our country, also with global data.
The most frequently diagnosed cancers in the world in 2022 were lung cancer, surpassing breast cancer as the most incident tumor worldwide, followed by breast, colon and rectum, and prostate cancers, all with over a million cases.
The most frequently diagnosed tumors in our country this year will be colon and rectum (44,573 new cases), breast (37,682), lung (34,506), prostate (32,188), and urinary bladder (22,435). Lymphomas non-Hodgkin (10,383) will follow at a distance, along with pancreatic cancers (10,338), kidney (9,774), oral cavity and pharynx (7,446), uterine body (7,428), stomach (7,136), and liver (6,800).
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) estimated that in 2022 approximately 18.7 million new cancer cases were diagnosed worldwide (excluding non-melanoma skin tumors), and that this figure will reach 32.6 million in 2050.
According to data published by the WHO in its 'World Cancer Report 2014', around a third of cancer deaths are due to the five most important preventable factors, including tobacco, infections, alcohol, sedentary lifestyle, and inadequate diets (insufficient fruit and vegetable intake).
SEOM emphasizes the increase in the number of lung cancer cases in women compared to previous years, already consolidated as the third most incident tumor in women this year, "increasingly distant from uterine body cancer which a few years ago was the third most frequent," the report states.
Another fundamental risk factor for tumor development is age, especially from 45-49 years old. From birth to 80 years old, men have a 40.4% risk of developing cancer and women have a 28.3% risk. At 85 years old, these values are 48.1% in men and 33% in women.
Cancer mortality in Spain
Tumors have been responsible for more than a quarter of deaths in our country in 2023 (26.5%), 115,889. Among the deaths, as in previous years, were lung, colon, pancreas, breast, and prostate cancers. Mortality in our country has experienced a sharp decline in recent decades.
This is due to improvements in patient survival with tumors due to preventive activities, early diagnosis campaigns, therapeutic advances, and, in men, the decrease in smoking prevalence. Other changes, such as the increase in lung cancer attributable to pollution, the effect of treatments for hepatitis virus, etc., will take time to become evident.
Cancer mortality has increased in both sexes: 8,140 compared to 6,278 in 2014, due to the increase in its incidence to 9,986 cases in 2024, compared to 6,367 a decade ago. Conversely, stomach cancer mortality has decreased significantly in Spain in recent decades. 10 years ago, there were 7,810 cases detected, compared to the estimated 7,136 for this year.
The survival of Spanish patients is similar to that of neighboring countries. It is estimated to have doubled in the last 40 years and is likely to continue to increase slowly in the coming years. The 5-year net survival from diagnosis of patients detected between 2008-2013 in Spain was 55.3% in men and 61.7% in women.