SEOM point out that this decrease is due to technological advances which allow early detection and the administering of increasingly more effective treatment.

According to a one study published in Spain, the incidence of cancer reached 215,534 new cases in 2012, with an increase in persons of over 65 years old, owing to the growth and ageing of the population.

Last year, a total of 102,762 fatal cancer cases were reported, 20% of those were lung cancer, 14.3% colorectal and 5.9% breast. The increase in population and its ageing explains why lung cancer continues to grow year by year but, fortunately, the survival rate and quality of life of patients has also been on the increase.

The president of SEOM, Pilar Garrido, expressed that it is important to bear in mind how each step that has been reached has contributed towards the possibility of cancer patients being cured and to longer survival times in many types of cancer, not only in cases diagnosed in early stages.