Changes in life expectancy due to trends in cancer mortality rates, Spain 1980 – 2024

Vollständiger Abstract

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Background Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Although cancer mortality has declined in recent decades, its contribution to gains in life expectancy and to female-male life expectancy gap has not been fully quantified in Spain. This study assessed trends in age-adjusted cancer mortality in Spain from 1980 to 2024 and quantified their contribution to overall life expectancy and by cancer type (lung, colorectal, stomach, breast, and prostate). Methods Mortality data and life tables for the Spanish population were obtained from the Spanish National Statistics Institute for selected years from 1980 to 2024. Age-adjusted cancer mortality rates were estimated by direct standardization using the 2020 Spanish population as the reference. The Arriaga decomposition method quantified the contribution of cancer mortality to changes in life expectancy by age group and cancer type and, through an adapted approach, to the female-male life expectancy gap. Results Life expectancy increased by 9.0 years in men and 8.1 years in women between 1980 and 2024. Declines in cancer mortality contributed 0.62 years (6.8%) and 0.80 years (9.8%) of these gains, respectively. Stomach cancer generated the largest gains (0.31 years in men and 0.21 years in women), followed by prostate cancer (0.17 years) and breast cancer (0.18 years). Colorectal cancer made the smallest contribution (0.03 years in men and 0.07 years in women). Lung cancer showed contrasting trends by sex: declining mortality increased male life expectancy by 0.29 years, whereas rising mortality reduced female life expectancy by 0.23 years. The female–male life expectancy gap peaked at 7.19 years in 1995 and declined to 5.14 years in 2024. In 2024, cancer accounted for 32.1% of the gap, with lung cancer as the largest contributor. Conclusions Declining cancer mortality contributed to improvements in life expectancy in Spain between 1980 and 2024, accounting for 6.8% of the gain in men and 9.8% in women. The impact varied by cancer type and sex, underscoring the need for targeted cancer prevention and control strategies. Continued progress in tobacco control, early detection, and treatment will be essential to increase population longevity and reduce sex inequalities in health.