title: The European Cancer Observatory: A new data resource.
abstract: Population-based cancer registries provide indispensable information on cancer incidence and survival, which cannot be obtained by any other means. It is clear that complete and effective use of these data is essential for cancer control, but sharing this information in a uniform, timely and user-friendly manner has been somewhat limited up to now. The European Cancer Observatory (ECO, http://eco.iarc.fr) has been developed in the framework of the EUROCOURSE project (EUROpe against Cancer: Optimisation of Use of Registries for Scientific Excellence in Research) as a comprehensive resource combining all the information currently available in Europe on cancer incidence, mortality, survival and prevalence. The website provides analytical and presentation tools to examine national estimates for 2012 in 40 European countries (EUCAN), data for 130 national or sub-national areas covered by cancer registries for up to 60 years, until 2011 (EUREG) and a planned mechanism for data download (European Cancer Incidence and Mortality (EUROCIM)). The generated statistics outline the considerable variability across Europe in the rates of all major cancer types and help identify key concerns that need to be addressed by public health policies e.g. the unprecedented rise of lung cancer incidence in women with its full impact expected within a decade or so. The support, maintenance and further development of the ECO website should be a high priority for European cancer policymakers, to continue providing this unique information to health professionals, researchers and the general public in Europe and beyond.
authors.affiliation: Section of Cancer Information, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France. Electronic address: steliarova@iarc.fr.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Steliarova-Foucher
authors.affiliation: National Cancer Registry, Cork, Ireland. Electronic address: m.ocallaghan@ncri.ie.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Callaghan
authors.affiliation: Section of Cancer Information, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France. Electronic address: ferlay@iarc.fr.
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ferlay
authors.affiliation: Section of Cancer Information, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France. Electronic address: masuyer@iarc.fr.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Masuyer
authors.affiliation: Piedmont Cancer Registry - CPO Piedmont Reference Centre for Epidemiology and Cancer Prevention, Turin, Italy. Electronic address: stefano.rosso@cpo.it.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rosso
authors.affiliation: Section of Cancer Information, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France. Electronic address: formand@iarc.fr.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Forman
authors.affiliation: Section of Cancer Information, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France. Electronic address: brayf@iarc.fr.
authors.forename: Freddie
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bray
authors.affiliation: National Cancer Registry, Cork, Ireland. Electronic address: h.comber@ncri.ie.
authors.forename: Harry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Comber
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000592:standards / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cancer; Estimates; Europe; Incidence; Mortality; Prevalence; Registry; Survival; Website