Deaths from cancer in Greece amount to 22,256, with the disease accounting for 20% of all deaths, as stated in the OECD's "Health at a Glance 2023" annual report.
With a clearly greater impact on men, Greece is above the international average in the ratio of deaths to the population. More specifically, in our country there are 208 cancer deaths per 100,000 population per year, or 22,256 deaths in total (2021 data).
The difference in mortality between women and men is noticeable. For women there are 150 deaths per 100,000 and for men 230 deaths. According to the authors of the report, cancer was in 2021 the second leading cause of death in OECD countries, after circulatory diseases, accounting for 21% of losses.
The leading causes of cancer-related mortality were lung cancer (20%), colon cancer (10.9%), breast cancer (14.7% in women) and prostate cancer (10 .1% in men).
These four forms of the disease account for almost 44% of all cancers diagnosed in OECD countries. Smoking is the main risk factor for lung cancer.
Colorectal cancer is also a leading cause of death for both men and women, accounting for 10.9% of cancer-related deaths for both sexes.
In recent years, however, many OECD countries have seen an increasing incidence of colorectal cancer in younger patients.
Also, breast cancer is the second most common cause of cancer mortality in women (14.7% of deaths). While breast cancer incidence rates have increased over the past decade, mortality rates have decreased or stabilised, which is linked to early diagnosis and treatment.
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