BACKGROUND: Cancer remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In developing countries, data on @entity2 mortality are scarce. METHODS: Using South Africa's annual mortality and population estimates data, we calculated @entity2 age-standardised mortality rates for the period 1995 to 2006. The WHO world standard population was used as the reference population. Scatter plots and regression models were used to assess linear trends in mortality rates. To better characterise emerging trends, regression models were also partitioned for defined periods. RESULTS: @entity2 caused 52,217 @entity204 during the study period. There were 4,525 @entity204 for the most recent year (2006), with @entity1 accounting for 67% of @entity204 . For the entire South African population, the age-standardised mortality rate of 24.3 per 100,000 @entity1 in 1995 was similar to the rate of 23.8 per 100,000 @entity1 in 2006. Overall, there was no significant decline in @entity2 mortality in South Africa from 1995 to 2006 (slope = -0.15, p = 0.923). In @entity1 , there was a statistically non-significant annual decline of 0.21 @entity204 per 100,000 @entity1 (p = 0.433) for the study period. However, from 2001 to 2006, the annual decline of 1.29 @entity204 per 100,000 @entity1 was statistically significant (p = 0.009). In @entity1 , the mortality rate increased significantly at an annual rate of 0.19 per 100,000 @entity1 (p = 0.043) for the study period, and at a higher rate of 0.34 per 100,000 @entity1 (p = 0.007) from 1999 to 2006. CONCLUSION: The more recent declining @entity2 mortality rate in @entity1 is welcome but the increasing rate in @entity1 is a public health concern that warrants intervention. Smoking intervention policies and programmes need to be strengthened to further reduce @entity2 mortality in @entity1 and to address the increasing rates in @entity1 .

Trends in XXXX mortality in South Africa: 1995-2006.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['women', 'persons', 'men'] @entity2 :: ('MESH:D008175', 'Disease') :: ['Lung cancer', 'lung cancer'] @entity204 :: ('MESH:D003643', 'Disease') :: ['deaths']
@entity2 :: (MESH:D008175,Disease) :: ['lung cancer']
