The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) in Germany has reported that the number of cancer-related hospitalizations has decreased further in the country.
In 2022, only around 1.4 million patients were treated in hospitals for cancer, marking the lowest level in the past 20 years.
This represents a 2% decrease from the previous year, which was mainly attributed to COVID-19 restrictions.
The total number of inpatient hospital treatments remained constant, indicating that the decrease was specific to cancer treatments.
According to Destatis, improvements in prevention, screening, and treatment of cancer could be the reason for the decline.
However, cancer remains the fourth most common reason for hospitalization in Germany, with 8% of all inpatient treatments in 2022 due to this disease.
Only diseases of the circulatory system, injuries or poisoning, and diseases of the digestive system resulted in more frequent hospital stays.
The majority of cancer patients in Germany are aged between 60 and 79, with more than half belonging to this age group.
A fifth of the patients were aged between 40 and 59, and another 20% were aged 80 or older.
Only 5% of cancer patients were under the age of 40.
Lung and bronchial cancers were the most common types of cancer among inpatients, accounting for 12% of the total.
However, the number of hospital cases caused by lung and bronchial cancers fell by 4% compared to the previous year.
Other types of cancers that led to hospitalizations included bowel cancer, breast cancer, and skin cancer.
The number of skin cancer cases increased by 3%, contrary to the overall trend.
Destatis stated that improved prevention, screening, and treatment of cancer have led to higher chances of a cure.
However, the number of deaths caused by cancer has risen in the past 20 years.
In 2022, some 231,500 people died in Germany as a result of cancer, while in 2002, the figure was only around 210,000.
The increase is probably due to the aging of the population, according to Destatis.
Nevertheless, the proportion of cancer victims among all deaths has fallen from 25% in 2002 to 22% in 2022.
Lung and bronchial cancer also caused the highest number of cancer-related deaths in Germany, with 45,200 deaths in 2022.
Colorectal cancer was responsible for 24,300 deaths, followed by pancreatic cancer at 19,200, breast cancer at 19,100, and prostate cancer at 15,600.
