Cancer Prevalence Flashcards
What is Cancer?
A group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells
What can occur if spreading doesn’t stop?
Untreated spreading of abnormal cells can result in death (not always the case) this can take a long time
What is Prevalence?
A measure of the proportion of people in a population affected with a particular disease at a given time
What is Incidence?
The number of new disease cases reported in a population over a certain period of time
Is prevalence or incidence of cancer more spoken about?
Incidence of cancer is more spoken about as new cancer over a period of time continues to arise
Example of prevalence
How many people have cancer in a class?
Example of incidence
How many people have had cancer this year?
What is a cancer survivor?
Anyone who’s survived cancer after diagnosis.
What is one type of cancer prevention?
Screening - parts of the body are screened to try and find/catch cancer early
Types of cancer treatment
- Radiation
- Chemotherapy
- Surgery
- Immunotherapy
etc…
Two directions cancer survivors can go after treatment attempts
- Rehabilitation - the road to recovery to survival
- Palliation - end of life care if treatment is unsuccessful
What is staging?
Describes the extent to which the cancer has spread (how big the abnormal cell growth/tumor is)
Why is staging important to determine?
It’s essential for deciding what kind of treatment to do going forward. Different stages may require more or less intensive treatment options
What is the TNM staging system?
T = Extent of primary tumor
N = Lymph node involvement (the more involved, the worse)
M = Absence or presence of metastases (spread) / the extent to which the cancer has spread to other parts of the body
What are the different stages of cancer?
I, II, III, and IV
What is stage I cancer?
It’s superficial, limited to the organ of origin with no lymph node involvement and no metastases
What is stage IV cancer?
Most advanced stage with distant metastases present in other parts of the body
What is “In Situ”?
When cancer is only present in one layer of cells where it developed (Tis)
- Easy to treat but not commonly found because it’s unnoticeable
- EX: breast cancer only found in one layer of the breast
What is the incidence of cancer in Canada?
Huge and growing: Approximately 247,100 new cases in 2024
What is the prevalence of cancer in Canada?
1.5 million survivors living in Canada in 2018
Why is Canada and the U.S world leaders for cancer cases?
- Other countries may lack technology where they cannot detect cancer or report the number of cases
- Polluted environments increase lung cancer risks compared to non polluted areas/countries
- Countries may be susceptible to more common cancer cases than others (breast cancer may be common in North America and not Africa)
What disease did cancer overtake to become the #1 leading cause of death in Canada?
Heart disease, since 2020
Cancer 24.4% vs heart disease 17.5%
Why is cancer the #1 leading cause of death in Canada over heart disease?
- We’ve become better at treating heart disease
- more types of cancer are arising, more research is needed
- cancer is incurable
Who is most a risk of getting cancer?
Anyone can get cancer!!
- 90% of diagnoses are in people 50+ years
Is cancer a common result of inherited genes?
No, 95% of cancers do not result from inherited
Who’s at more risk of developing cancer? Men or Women?
In a lifetime, the probability for both genders is extremely similar. Women are slightly better off at 44% (1 in 2.2) vs Men at 45% chance (1in 2.2)
What are the most common cases of cancer found in women?
total new cases 2023 = 114,900
1. Breast 25.6%
2. Lung and Bronchus 13.7%
3. Colorectal 9.2%
What are the most common cases of cancer found in men?
total new cases 2023 = 124,200
1. Prostate 20.8%
2. Lung and Bronchus 12.3%
3. Colorectal 10.9%
Most common cancer in children ages 0-14
Leukemia 35%
Most common cancer in individuals ages 15-29
Thyroid cancer 16%
Most common cancer in individuals ages 30-49
Breast cancer 24%
Most common cancer in individuals ages 50-69
Breast cancer 15%
Most common cancer in individuals ages 70-84
Lung and Bronchus cancer 17%
Most common cancer in individuals ages 85+
Colorectal 15%
How many people die from cancer in Canada?
1 in 4 Canadians will die from cancer
How many people in Canada died from cancer in 2023?
86,700 Canadians
What is the 5-year survival rate?
A common benchmark of people diagnosed with cancer who are alive after 5 years compared to non-cancer populations of the same age, sex and race.
- Generally, cancer survivors reach 5 years of survival
What percent is the 5-year survival rate?
Overall 5-year survival rate is 64%
What determines 5-year survival rate?
Varies depending on the stage of the tumour
What is the overall Canadian healthcare system cost of cancer?
7.5 billion per year in 2012 including productivity loss, private expense, etc
What causes an increase in cancer cost?
The increase in aging population
What are the big 4?
- Lung cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Breast cancer
- Colorectal cancer
What is the big 4 responsible for?
A disproportionate share of burden in terms of incidence and mortality
52% of new cancer cases
55% of cancer deaths
What does year of life lost from cancer measure? (YLL)
Measure of burden determined from incidence and survival data
When are years of life lost to cancer higher?
Typically in younger people who have a high death rate
How to find life years of life lost from cancer
Take life expectancy at their age group and subtract their age of death
What cancer had the highest years of life lost in 2009?
Lung cancer (300,900)
