Relative Survival of Cancer Patients: A Comparison between Denmark and the other Nordic Countries

The results of a Nordic collaborative project revealed that Danish cancer patients had a poorer prognosis than patients in the other Nordic countries for some major cancer sites. The present study was undertaken to further explore the differences in survival between Denmark and the other Nordic countries. All cancer cases diagnosed in the Nordic countries during 1958 to 1991/92 were included in the analysis. Relative survival and excess mortality were calculated for intervals in the first five years after diagnosis. Since the 1950s, the prognosis of cancer patients has improved in all the countries, but more moderately in Denmark. For cancers of the stomach, colon, rectum, breast (female), and prostate, the Danish patients had a markedly lower relative survival than the patients in the other countries. They also had the lowest proportion of localized tumours. It appears that Danish cancer patients are diagnosed at a later stage of disease than patients in the other Nordic countries.