The number of new diagnoses increased most significantly in Wallonia, with a rise of 2.1 per cent. In Flanders, there was an increase of 1.3 per cent, while the Brussels-Capital Region recorded a decrease of 0.6 per cent. Men still account for the largest share of diagnoses (54.3 per cent), compared to 45.7 per cent for women. The Cancer Registry notes that the gap between the two genders is gradually narrowing.
Among men, prostate cancer remains the most frequently diagnosed cancer, followed by lung and colorectal cancers. For women, the top three remain unchanged: breast cancer, lung cancer, and colorectal cancer. After years of increase, the risk of prostate cancer appears to stabilise since 2023, and may even be slightly decreasing. However, estimates for 2025 suggest a modest rise again.
The risk of breast cancer in women remains relatively stable, although there are differences depending on age. The risk decreases between the ages of 50 and 69, the target group for screening programmes, and increases among women aged 70 and older.
Regarding lung cancer in men, the downward trend continues. Conversely, the number of diagnoses among women is rising. Encouragingly, survival rates for lung cancer continue to improve for both men and women.
Earlier this year, the Foundation also presented projections for 2035. These indicate that the number of new cancer diagnoses will then rise to approximately 93,330, or about 40 more cases per day than the over 215 per day in 2024.
The initial translation of this content was generated by AI. All facts, context, and language have subsequently been verified and validated by a human editorial team.
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