[The frequency of cancer in France in year 2000, and trends since 1950].

In 2000, there were 87,000 cancer deaths among men and 57,000 cancer deaths among women in France. Cancer mortality is decreasing since 1987 in the male population and since the mid 1960s in the female population. The decrease is larger among men than among women. The estimated number of cancers diagnosed in 2000 is 160,000 in the male population and 120,000 in the female population. The most frequent cancer sites in the male population are prostate, lung, colon, intestine and mouth, pharynx plus larynx. In the female population, breast cancer is by far the most frequent cancer, followed by colorectal cancer. Between 1980 and 2000, cancer incidence increased by 30%, whereas cancer mortality decreased by 10%, these results are observed for each sex.