Some Issues on Cancer Epidemiology – Prevalence of Comorbid Mental Disorders

Cancer diseases affect approximately 10 million people onlyin Europe, As a result of the demographic development; theirprevalence is expected to double during the next 10 years. Canceris a leading cause of death. It accounted for eight million deathsworldwide (around 15% of all deaths) in 2010 (38% more than in1990) Meanwhile the number of survivors continues to grow, notjust because of earlier detection and treatment, but also becauseof revolutionary new therapies. About 9 million Americans of allages are living with a current or past diagnosis of cancer. For manyindividuals, this changes the landscape from a terminal illness tomore of a chronic illness with periods of remission and exacerbationof symptoms. This perspective on neoplasms has broadened thescope of care from treating the disease alone to managing cancerrelated symptoms at different stages of the disease trajectoryincluding mental disorders.