Hospitals across the EU discharged 4.9 million in-patients diagnosed with cancer in 2023.
Colorectal cancer was the most common diagnosis among discharged cancer patients, with 554,112 hospital discharges, or 11.2% of the total, Eurostat reported on Wednesday.
Lung cancer followed with 506,372 discharges (10.3%), and breast cancer with 480,922 (9.7%), it added.
The figures cover in-patients — people admitted to hospital for treatment and discharged after staying at least one night — and are based on EU-wide health statistics.
Colorectal cancer rates varied widely by country
In 18 EU countries, colorectal cancer was the leading diagnosis among discharged resident in-patients with cancer, Eurostat said.
The discharge rate for colorectal cancer was highest in Croatia at 360 patients per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Latvia (243) and Austria (239).
The lowest discharge rates for colorectal cancer were reported in Malta (31 per 100,000), Luxembourg (56) and Ireland (58).
The data was published to mark World Cancer Day, observed each year on 4 February.
