1 Foreword

The Finnish Cancer Registry has completed the cancer statistics on the year 2022 (cancerregistry.fi/statistics/cancer-statistics). For the first time, preliminary data for 2023 were published at the same time as the actual cancer statistics. Compared to the preliminary statistics for 2022 published in the autumn, the number of cases of pancreatic (458 additional cases), lung (520 additional cases) and haematological (412 additional cases) cancer increased as expected. In other respects, the figures changed less.

This report compiles statistical data on new cancer cases, cancer deaths and patient survival, for instance. In addition, the report presents the number of people living with and after cancer, the years of life lost due to cancer and predictions of the cancer burden until 2040. All told, there were 37,268 new cancer cases and 13,287 cancer deaths recorded in 2022. The most common new cases were breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men, followed by colorectal cancer in both sexes. The most common causes of cancer deaths in women were lung cancer and breast cancer. In men, the most common causes of cancer deaths were lung cancer and prostate cancer.

The previous cancer reports analysed the shortfall in cancer cases due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 (1,600 new cancer cases) and 2021 (900 cases). In the present report, it was estimated that 1,000 new cancer cases remained undetected in 2022. No significant changes in cancer mortality were observed between 2020 and 2022.

For the second time, this report looks at the cancer burden in terms of years of life lost. The Finnish population was estimated to lose more than 190,000 years of life in a single year due to cancer. Women lose the most years of life to breast cancer and men to lung cancer. On average, breast cancer causes a patient to lose 3.3 years of life, lung cancer 11.6 years and prostate cancer 1.2 years.

The cancer statistics in this report have been compiled in line with the clinical cancer classification system (ICD-10), going back as far as 1953, the year the Finnish Cancer Registry was founded. The Cancer Registry’s data sources are healthcare providers and pathology laboratories. In particular, cases for which no tissue or cell sample has been obtained may remain unreported. The aim is to improve the data coverage of these ‘clinical notifications’ through cooperation with health services and developers of patient information systems. The updated statistics on clinical notifications are available on our website (syoparekisteri.fi/tilastot/kliinisten-ilmoitusten-tilasto).

The disclosure of cancer data on 2022 for research purposes began in April 2024. The Finnish Cancer Registry is a research institute under the Cancer Society of Finland that maintains the national register of all diagnosed cancer cases and a register on cervical, breast and colorectal cancer screening. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare is the controller of the cancer register and as such has given the Cancer Society of Finland responsibility for the operation of the registers.

We want to extend our sincerest thanks to all our partners and data providers. The reliable knowledge base on cancer provided by comprehensive and long time series lays a solid foundation for both healthcare development and research.


Helsinki, 28 May 2024

Janne Pitkäniemi, Professor Nea Malila, Docent Karri Seppä, Docent
Director Chief Medical Officer Research Manager
tel. +358 50 372 3335 tel. +358 50 305 5730 tel. +358 50 441 8556

2 Cancer situation in 2022

There were a total of 37 268 new cancer cases diagnosed in Finland in 2022. Of these, 17 622 were diagnosed in women and 19 646 in men. A total of 13 287 people died from cancer in 2022 (TABLE 2.1). More than 320,000 Finns who had been diagnosed with cancer were alive at the end of 2022: 56% were women and 44% were men. The five-year relative survival rate of cancer patients monitored between 2020 and 2022 was 70%.

TABLE 2.1: New cancer cases and cancer deaths in 2022, cancer prevalence and five-year relative survival ratio of patients in the Finnish population separately for women and men.
Total population Female Male
37 268 new cases 17 622 new cases 19 646 new cases
13 287 cancer deaths 6 264 cancer deaths 7 023 cancer deaths
323 097 living patients 180 539 living patients 142 558 living patients
70% five-year survival rate 71% five-year survival rate 69% five-year survival rate
\label{dual-plots-all}Cancer incidence and mortality (per 100,000 person-years and age-standardised to the 2014 Finnish population) and age-standardised five-year relative survival ratio (%) by sex in 1953–2022.

FIGURE 2.1: Cancer incidence and mortality (per 100,000 person-years and age-standardised to the 2014 Finnish population) and age-standardised five-year relative survival ratio (%) by sex in 1953–2022.

Figure (FIGURE 2.1) shows the age-standardised cancer incidence and mortality and the relative survival rate of patients from 1953 to 2022. Cancer incidence increased in women by 0.8% on average per year between 1992 and 2019 (TABLE 15.5). In men, the previous increase (1.0% per year in 1990–2003, TABLE 15.6) has levelled out (-0.2% per year in 2004–2019). The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on cancer incidence is assessed in chapter 3. Cancer mortality decreased among women and men: on average by 0.5% per year (2006–2022) in women and by 1.2% per year in men (2008–2022, TABLE 15.7 and TABLE 15.8). The relative survival rate has improved steadily in women, and the previous rapid improvement in the survival rate in men has slowed down since the early 2000s.