Trends in uterine cancer incidence in Japan 1975-98

National cancer incidence in Japan has been estimated by theResearch Group for Population-based Cancer Registration in Japansince 1975, based on the data from 5–12 population-basedcancer registries that fulfil the standard requirements fordata quality. The methods of estimation and their limitationswere explained in our previous reports (1–3); the mostrecent three-year incidence was calculated for each eligibleregistry. Cancer incidence rates     

Predictions of the incidence of cancer in Japan in the year 2000

The incidence of cancer in Japan in the year 2000 was predicted according to sex, age-group, and primary site, using the annual incidence data in the Osaka Cancer Registry for 1966-83 and the annual standardized mortality ratio of Osaka residents to all residents of Japan in 1966-83. (1) The incidence of cancer in Japan in the year 2000 was predicted to reach 479,500 cases (365.5 per 100,000 population), or a 1.66-fold increase over that of 1985. Forty-nine percent of these cases would be aged 70 years or older. (2) As for the 5 leading cancer sites in the year 2000, out of this total of 479,500 cancer cases, 80,300 were estimated to occur in the lung, 77,200 in the stomach, 45,200 in the colon, 35,500 in the liver and 28,000 in the breast.     

Cancer incidence and incidence rates in Japan in 1998: estimates based on data from 12 population-based cancer registries

The Research Group for Population-based Cancer Registrationin Japan estimated cancer incidence in Japan in 1998 based ondata from 12 population-based cancer registries: Miyagi, Yamagata,Chiba, Kanagawa, Niigata, Fukui, Aichi, Shiga, Osaka, HiroshimaCity, Saga and Nagasaki. The methods of estimation and its limitationsare explained in     

Cancer incidence and incidence rates in Japan in 1997: estimates based on data from 12 population-based cancer registries

The Research Group for Population-based Cancer Registrationin Japan estimated cancer incidence in Japan in 1997 based ondata from 12 population-based cancer registries: Miyagi, Yamagata,Chiba, Kanagawa, Niigata, Fukui, Aichi, Shiga, Osaka, HiroshimaCity, Saga and Nagasaki. The methods of estimation and its limitationsare explained in     

Cancer incidence in Japan

Based on the estimates by the Research Group for Population-based Cancer Registration in Japan, time-trend of cancer incidence in Japan was described and analyzed. During the period of 1975-1998, the annual total cancer incidence increased 111,000-290,000 in males, and 96,000-208,000 among females. The higher incidence was prominent for cancers of the colorectum, lung, liver, gallbladder and extrahepatic bill duct (both sexes), prostate, and breast (female), whereas it was low or negligible for cancers of the stomach (both sexes) and uterus. The increased cancer incidence was globally attributed to the rapid growth of the Japanese aged population. However, a remarkable increase in the age-standardized incidence rate was also observed for cancers of the colorectum (both sexes), prostate, and breast (female). A decline in the age-standardized incidence rate was continuously observed for cancer of the stomach and uterus. A birth cohort analysis has revealed that the cancer incidence in Japan has been highly affected by the generation. Based on the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents Vol. VIII, the cumulative risk of cancer incidence (0-79 years old) was calculated and compared among the Japanese population (6 registries' data), US-Japanese and US-white. Several characteristics were suggested and discussed for Japanese cancer risk.     

Cancer incidence and incidence rates in Japan in 1999: estimates based on data from 11 population-based cancer registries

The Research Group for Population-based Cancer Registrationin Japan estimated the cancer incidence in Japan in 1999 onthe basis of data collected from 11 population-based cancerregistries: Miyagi, Yamagata, Chiba, Kanagawa, Niigata, Fukui,Aichi, Shiga, Osaka, Hiroshima City and Nagasaki. The methodsof estimation and their limitations have     

Descriptive epidemiology of cancer in Japan: current cancer incidence and survival data

The Research Group for Population-Based Cancer Registration in Japan, which has been collecting cancer incidence and mortality data from participating registries annually since 1974, has also been estimating cancer incidence rates for the whole of Japan by sex, age, and site. Data from the third survey have now been analyzed. Marked changes have been observed by the Osaka Cancer Registry in incidence rates of some sites during this period. Five-year relative survival rates for registered cancer cases have been calculated by the Osaka Registry for the first time in Japan.     

Trends in cancer incidence and mortality in Osaka, Japan: Evaluation of cancer control activities

It is essential to analyze trends in cancer incidence and mortality in the evaluation of cancer control activities. Previous studies from Japan, however, described trends in cancer incidence and mortality only qualitatively. There have been few studies that evaluated the trends quantitatively. We calculated age-standardized mortality rates (1968–2006) and incidence rates (1968–2002) for overall cancer sites and for each major site (stomach, colorectal, liver, lung, prostate, breast, and uterus) in Osaka. We applied a joinpoint regression model to the trends in incidence and mortality, in order to identify the joinpoint and estimate annual percentage change. Then, we quantified the contribution of individual cancer sites to the change in overall cancer mortality rate. For the sites that made a major contribution, we estimated the contribution of the incidence reduction to the mortality reduction. In Osaka, the overall cancer mortality started to decrease from 1998. The decrease was largely attributable to the reduction of stomach and liver cancer mortality (73% for men, 53% for women). The reduction of mortality from the two cancer sites could be explained by the decrease in their incidences (more than 80% for stomach, approximately 100% for liver). Female breast cancer incidence and mortality were both increased probably due to lifestyle changes and delayed introduction of an effective screening program among Japanese. In conclusion, the decreased overall cancer mortality in Osaka during the study period was mainly due to natural decreases in the incidence of stomach and liver cancer, which were attributable to the decrease in risk factors. ( Cancer Sci 2009: 100: 2390–2395)     

Estimation of the number of cancer survivors in Japan

Cancer prevalence statistics are necessary for cancer control programs. Although a long-term cancer registry keeps files which cover incidence, prevalence and cured cases, the latter two categories are difficult to distinguish from each other. The Connecticut and the Finnish Cancer Registries therefore defined the sum of these two groups as "prevalence." The authors estimated the numbers and rates of survivors from cancer ("prevalence") in Japan as of January 1, 1985, based on the number of cancer patients for all sites diagnosed since 1960. The number of cancer patients in Japan diagnosed during the period from 1960 to 1984 was estimated to be 4,686,352 (both sexes). Of these, the number of cancer survivors as of January 1, 1985 was estimated to be 952,870 (both sexes). Among the survivors, 430,940 were diagnosed in the final five years from 1980-84. The results were compared with those reported from the USA and Finland.     

Current activities and future directions of the cancer registration system in Japan

Cancer surveillance is essential for implementing evidence-based cancer control programs, and cancer registries provide core information for cancer surveillance. In 2006, the Cancer Control Act was approved in Japan and it is clear that the national government will take the initiative in promoting cancer control programs, including cancer registries. There are three types of cancer registries: population-based, hospital-based, and site-specific cancer registries. Although each has its own aim and function, the population-based cancer registry is the only one that can provide cancer incidence data. Currently, 35 of the 47 prefectures in Japan, and one city (Hiroshima) have population-based cancer registries; however, there are two major issues with these registries, i.e., standardization of procedures and completeness of incidence data. In order to improve the level of standardization, the Japan Cancer Surveillance Research Group has developed a standard registry system in which standardized procedures are implemented; this system is currently being disseminated into several registries. To improve completeness of incidence data, it is planned, first, to establish hospital-based cancer registries at designated cancer-care hospitals (a newly developed hospital network to provide standardized high-quality cancer care). This strategy will be effective in rural areas, where most cancer patients are covered by designated cancer-care hospitals, but in urban areas additional action will be needed. In 2006, the Center for Cancer Control and Information Services (CIS) was launched at the National Cancer Center. It is expected that the CIS will play a central role in improving the quality of the cancer surveillance system in Japan.     

Possible underestimation of the incidence rate of prostate cancer in Japan

We adjusted the prostate cancer incidence rate in Japan for differences between Japan and the US in the proportion of latent prostate carcinoma identified at autopsy and of localized tumors among all carcinomas of the prostate. The adjusted incidence rate of prostate cancer in Japanese in Japan by this method is estimated to be between 24.9 and 33.3 per 100,000 population, based on incidence rates from the population-based cancer registries of Miyagi, Japan, and Los Angeles and Hawaii, USA. The rate estimated here is almost 3-4 times greater than the rate reported previously. The difference in the incidence rates of prostate cancer between Japanese in Japan and the US (32.2-49.8 per 100,000) may therefore be substantially smaller than previously thought.     

Cancer incidence and incidence rates in Japan in 2001 based on the data from 10 population-based cancer registries

The Japan Cancer Surveillance Research Group estimated the cancerincidence in Japan in 2001 on the basis of the data collectedfrom 10 population-based cancer registries: Miyagi,     

Cancer incidence and incidence rates in Japan in 2000: Estimates based on data from 11 population-based cancer registries

The Japan Cancer Surveillance Research Group estimated the cancerincidence in Japan in 2000 on the basis of data collected from11 population-based cancer registries: Miyagi, Yamagata, Chiba(model area), Kanagawa,     

Cancer incidence and incidence rates in Japan in 2002: based on data from 11 population-based cancer registries

The number of cancer incidences, crude incidence rates, age-standardized incidence rates in 2002 in Japan are estimated. The estimated total number of incidences was 570,598.     

Cancer incidence in Japan, 1985-89: re-estimation based on data from eight population-based cancer registries. The Research Group for Population-based Cancer Registration in Japan

The Research Group for Population-based Cancer Registration in Japan has been conducting a cooperative study to estimate cancer incidence in Japan since 1975. Estimated incidence data calculated annually were accumulated in 1996 for 18 years. The Group has separately provided another re-calculated incidence estimate series which were prepared for 1975-79, 1980-84 and 1985-89. The former two results, each of five years were previously published elsewhere. These recalculated estimate series made more reliable observations of time trends in incidence feasible by using the same eligible registries' data throughout each 5-year period. This report presents results of the latter 5 years between 1985 and 1989; age-specific, crude and age-standardized incidence rates, as well as the number of incidence according to site and gender, under the cooperation of eight eligible population-based cancer registries in Japan: Miyagi, Yamagata, Kanagawa, Fukui, Osaka, Tottori, Hiroshima City and Nagasaki City. Incidence in Japan was estimated at 187,200 and 150,700 for all cancer sites among males and among females, respectively, in 1985 and 216,700 and 166,900, respectively, in 1989. The leading site was the stomach among both males and females from 1985 to 1989. Among males the second leading site was the lung, followed by the liver, colon and rectum. Among females, it was the breast, followed by the colon, uterus and lung in 1989. The proportion of the cases registered by a death certificate only for all sites was 14.0-15.7 and 13.7-15.3% and the ratio of incidence to mortality was 1.69-1.73 and 1.95-2.01 among males and females, respectively, during the period.      

Time-trends in cancer incidence and mortality in Japan

The cancer incidence and mortality in Japan are described herein. The total number of deaths from all malignant neoplasms in 1998 was 284,000, corresponding to 30.3% of the total number of deaths among Japanese. Lung was the leading site of cancer deaths (17.9%), followed by the stomach (17.9%), large bowel (12.1%), liver (11.8%), pancreas (6.2%), gallbladder and extrahepatic biliary tract (5.2%), lymphatic tissue (3.7%), esophagus (3.4%), breast (3.1%), prostate (2.4%), leukemia (2.3%) and uterus (1.8%). The stomach was the leading site of cancer deaths until 1997, but was replaced by the lungs in 1998. The age-standardized mortality rates (1975-1998) have increased gradually for males, but decreased slightly for females. The rates have decreased remarkably for the stomach and uterus, while increasing for the lungs, large bowel, female breast, gallbladder and extrahepatic biliary tract, pancreas, and others. The total incidence for all cancers in Japan was estimated to be 454,000 in 1995. The stomach was the leading cancer site (22.2%), followed by the large bowel (17.7%), lung (11.6%), liver (7.8%), breast (6.6%), pancreas (3.7%), gallbladder and extrahepatic biliary tract (3.4%), lymphatic tissue (3.1%) and uterus (2.9%). The age-standardized incidence rates for all sites (1975-1995) have increased gradually for males, while remaining constant for females after a slight increase in the late 1970s. The incidence rates have decreased for the stomach and uterus, but increased for the large bowel, female breast, lung, liver, gallbladder and extrahepatic biliary tract, pancreas, prostate and others. The increase in the incidence rate was prominent for the large bowel, female breast and prostate.     

Decreasing trend of stomach cancer in Japan

Stomach cancer is still the most common cancer in both males and females in Japan and the Japanese still show the highest mortality and incidence of stomach cancer in the world. However, the age-adjusted death rate of stomach cancer has shown a marked declining trend in both sexes for the last 25 years in Japan. Advocates of mass screening for stomach cancer and clinicians who specialize in the surgical treatment of stomach cancer may wish to claim credit for the decrease of stomach cancer mortality in Japan whereas advocates of primary prevention of cancer may wish to claim that the decrease of stomach cancer mortality is largely due to a decrease of stomach cancer incidence reflecting a recent change of dietary habits, especially the spread of western-style foods and diminished intake of traditional Japanese foods. In fact, the incidence rate of stomach cancer as estimated from the Osaka Cancer Registry shows a similar decreasing trend to the mortality. In many western countries, notably in the United States, the stomach cancer death rate has been decreasing for a long time, and is still decreasing. In those countries stomach cancer is now ranked as one of the rare cancers. It is hoped that the stomach cancer mortality and incidence will further decrease in the future in Japan in a similar way. Meanwhile, it is necessary to evaluate accurately the effectiveness of stomach cancer screening programs. It is also necessary and useful to explore the reasons for the recent decrease of stomach cancer incidence in Japan, which could be regarded as a "natural experiment" or "passive primary prevention." If we could identify the main reasons for the decrease of stomach cancer incidence from epidemiologic studies, it might be possible to speed-up the decrease of stomach cancer incidence in Japan, as well as in other countries which still show a relatively high incidence of stomach cancer.     

Changing incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in Japan

A trend in the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Japan was studied from the data of the Osaka Cancer Registry (population, 8,512,351 in 1981) for the period of 1963-1983, the Vital Statistics of Japan, Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Japan Autopsy Registry which contained 594,132 individually filed cases in the 26-year period from 1958 to 1983. Both cancer registry data and autopsy records showed a more than 2-fold increase in HCC incidence, particularly in the last 10 years or so, among males and a less pronounced increase in females. The same trend was borne out by the cancer registries of Nagasaki City and Miyagi Prefecture and the Vital Statistics. When studied with the autopsy data, it was found that the numbers of autopsies for cirrhosis without HCC and autopsies for HCC (with and without cirrhosis) were about the same in 1958-1961 and that currently (1980-1983) the latter is about 2 times the former. As one of the possible causes of increase in HCC incidence other than prolonged survival of patients with cirrhosis, chronic non-A, non-B hepatitis is discussed.     

Dietary melatonin and liver cancer incidence in Japan: From the Takayama study

There is some biological plausibility that exogenous melatonin plays a role in preventing liver carcinogenesis. There has been little research on the association between melatonin intake in a normal diet and health outcomes. We evaluated the association between dietary melatonin intake and the incidence of liver cancer in a population-based prospective study in Japan. This study included 30,824 residents of Takayama city who were 35 years of age or older in 1992 and had participated in the Takayama study, Japan. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire at the baseline. Melatonin content in foods was measured by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Cancer incidence was confirmed through regional population-based cancer registries in Gifu. Liver cancer was defined as code C22 according to the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision. Hazard ratios for liver cancer were estimated for the tertile groups of melatonin intake using a Cox proportional hazards model. During the mean follow-up period of 13.6 years, 189 individuals developed liver cancer. Compared with subjects in the lowest tertile of melatonin intake, those in the middle and highest tertiles had decreased risks of liver cancer, with a significant linear trend after multivariate adjustments (hazard ratios: 0.64 and 0.65, respectively, trend p = 0.023). There was no significant interaction by sex (interaction p = 0.54). This initial finding, which needs to be confirmed by further studies, suggests that consuming melatonin-containing foods might play a role in the prevention of liver cancer.     

Cancer Prevalence in Aichi,Japan for 2012: Estimates Based on Incidence and Survival Data from Population-Based Cancer Registry

Background: Cancer is the leading cause of death among both men and women in Japan. Monitoring cancer prevalence is important because prevalence data play a critical role in the development and implementation of health policy. We estimated cancer prevalence in 2012 based on cancer incidence and 5-year survival rate in Aichi Prefecture using data from a population-based cancer registry, the Aichi Cancer Registry, which covers 7.4 million people. Methods: The annual number of incident cases between 2008 and 2012 was used. Survival data of patients diagnosed in 2006–2008 and followed up until the end of 2012 were selected for survival analysis. Cancer prevalence was estimated from incidence and year-specific survival probabilities. Cancer prevalence was stratified by sex, cancer site (25 major cancers), and age group at diagnosis. Results: The estimated prevalence for all cancers in 2012 was 68,013 cases among men, 52,490 cases among women, with 120,503 cases for both sexes. Colorectal cancer was the most incident cancer with 6,654 cases, accounting for 16.0% of overall incident cases, followed by stomach cancer with 5,749 cases (13.8%) and lung cancer with 5,593 cases (13.4%). Prostate cancer was the most prevalent among men, accounting for 21.5%, followed by colorectal and stomach cancers. Breast cancer was the most prevalent among women, accounting for 28.6%, followed by colorectal, stomach, and uterine cancers. Conclusion: This study provides cancer prevalence data that could serve as useful essential information for local governments in cancer management, to carry out more practical and reasonable countermeasures for cancer.