Cancer
Cancer in Europe
The scale of the issue
Cancer causes 20% of deaths in Europe each year1. With more than 3 million new cases and 1.7 million deaths annually, cancer is the most important cause of death and morbidity in Europe after cardiovascular diseases1. The most common cancers in Europe in 2008 were bowel, breast, lung and prostate which together accounted for nearly 50% of all cancer cases2.
Lifestyle, diet and cancer risk
Tobacco use is a major factor in the development of cancer, as are harmful alcohol use, poor diet and physical inactivity3. There has been an ongoing debate about the relationship between coffee consumption and cancer since the early 1970s, following a publication stating that coffee was positively associated with cancer4. Since then, over 500 epidemiologic studies worldwide have been devoted to looking at the potential link between coffee drinking and the risk of developing cancer.
