Has prostate cancer mortality stopped its decline in Spain?

OBJECTIVE

To describe the evolution of prostate cancer mortality in Spain during the period 1980-2013.

SUBJECT AND METHOD

The prostate cancer mortality data and population data needed to calculate the indicators were provided by the National Institute of Statistics. We calculated the specific rates by age group, raw and standardised globally using the direct method (European standard population). The rates are expressed for 100,000 person-years. For the analysis of trends in the rates, we used joinpoint regression models.

RESULTS

The overall rates adjusted for age in Spain decreased from 21.7 to 15.4 deaths per 100,000 men-years between the starting and ending date of the study period (annual percentage change: -.9%; P<.05). The joinpoint analysis reflects 2 periods: 1980-1998 (.7% annual increase; P<.05) and 1998-2013, during which the rates decreased significantly (-3%; P<.05). Except for the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla where the rates remained stable over the course of the study period, the communities showed 1 or 2 points of inflection in the trends, and all had a final period with a reduction in the rates (except for Galicia and Catalonia, where the rates stabilised in 2008-2013).

CONCLUSION

The decline in prostate cancer mortality in Spain appears to have stopped in Galicia and Catalonia.