The number of deaths from cancer in Europe is expected to fall in 2014, according to a major new study.

While there are some differences between countries and sexes, the only cancer which is expected to record an increase in deaths overall this year is pancreatic cancer.

Italian and Swiss scientists analysed cancer rates in the 27 countries that were members of the EU in 2007, as well as the six largest countries - the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Poland.

From their findings, they predicted that this year, 742,500 men and 581,000 women will die from cancer. This marks a 7% fall in the number of cancer deaths among men and a 5% fall in women since 2009.

Overall, since 2009, breast cancer death rates in women have fallen by 9% and colorectal cancer rates by 7%. However, lung cancer death rates are expected to rise in the future by 8%.

The scientists noted that while deaths from lung cancer among men are much higher than in women, ‘they are falling faster, due mainly to the history of different smoking patterns in the two sexes'.

"Lung cancer in men peaked in the late 1980s and has been falling since, while rates of lung cancer continue to rise in women. The generations of women who started smoking in the 1960s and 1970s are now starting to develop lung cancer. Lung cancer will become the first cause of death in European women in the next few years, overtaking breast cancer," said Prof Carlo La Vecchia of the University of Milan.

The scientists believe that the fall in colorectal cancer death rates in both men and women is ‘largely due to screening, early diagnosis and removal of adenomas (benign tumour) at colonoscopy'.

Lower prostate and breast cancer death rates are also due to better screening, management and treatment of the diseases, they said.

"Our predictions for 2014 confirm that pancreatic death rates are continuing to increase overall. This year we predict that 41,300 men and 41,000 women will die from pancreatic cancer. This represents a small but steady increase since the beginning of this century," Prof La Vecchia said.

He believes that this increased death rate ‘is cause for concern because the prognosis for this tumour is bleak'.

"Less than 5% of pancreatic cancer patients survive for five years after diagnosis. As so few patients survive, the increase in deaths is very closely related to the increase in incidence of this disease. This makes pancreatic cancer a priority for finding better ways to prevent and control it and better treatments," he insisted.

He pointed out that there is still ‘no promising treatment' for this type of cancer, making prevention essential. Smoking, obesity, diabetes and too much alcohol are all recognised risk factors, which need to be tackled.

"However, tobacco accounts for less than a third of all cases of pancreatic cancer, and all the other causes together account for another 10%. More work needs to be done to discover other possible causes," Prof La Vecchia added.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Annals of Oncology.