Background: the First CONCORD Study
The first CONCORD study was published in The Lancet Oncology in 2008 (see reference below). It reported survival for breast, colon, rectum and prostate cancer for 1.9 million adults diagnosed from 1990-1994 in 31 countries on five continents. It was the first worldwide analysis of cancer survival, with standard quality-control procedures and identical analytic methods for all datasets. The study showed that global variation in cancer survival was very wide. Cancer survival was higher in North America, Australia, Japan, and northern, western and southern Europe, and lower in Algeria, Brazil, and eastern Europe.
Coleman MP, Quaresma M, Berrino F, Lutz JM, De Angelis R, Capocaccia R, Baili P, Rachet B, Gatta G, Hakulinen T, Micheli A, Sant M, Weir HK, Elwood JM, Tsukuma H, Koifman S, E Silva GA, Francisci S, Santaquilani M, Verdecchia A, Storm HH, Young JL; CONCORD Working Group, 2008. Cancer survival in five continents: a worldwide population-based study (CONCORD) 9:730-56.