Trends in the survival of patients diagnosed with cancers in the respiratory system in the Nordic countries 1964–2003 followed up to the end of 2006

The slightly lower survival of Danish lung cancer patients may be related to a less favourable stage distribution and to an increased prevalence of causal factors, affecting the mortality due to competing risks of death. A reclassification of official causes of death at the cancer registry may be needed for cancer of the pleura in order to make the corresponding mortality rates comparable between countries.