Abstract

The paper provides a brief overview of cancer incidence and time trends in Estonia, according to the data of the nationwide population-based Estonian Cancer Registry. In 2004, 6,386 new cancer cases (3,132 cases in  men and 3,254 cases in women) were diagnosed in Estonia. The total age-standardised (world standard) incidence rates were 340 per 105 person-years and 234 per 105 person-years, respectively. During the past 35  years (1970–2004), a steady increase in total cancer incidence has been noted. Time trends have varied according to cancer site. The most dramatic increase has been observed for prostate cancer since the mid-1990s. By 2004, prostate cancer had become the leading malignancy in men, while breast cancer still remains the most frequent malignancy in women. The incidence of lung cancer has been decreasing in men since the late  1990s, and the rise in the incidence has levelled off in women in the early 2000s. However, due to the lack of an appropriate legal basis, the Estonian Cancer Registry has had no access to the data of national death certificates since 2001. Therefore, the Registry’s database may be incomplete and the incidence rates and trends for recent years should be interpreted with caution.