The estimated number of cancers diagnosed in 2002 is 150,000 in the male population and 120,000 in the female population and there were close to 88,000 cancer deaths among men and 59,000 cancer deaths among women in France. The most frequent cancer sites in the male population are prostate, lung, colon, intestine and head & neck (mouth, pharynx, larynx). In the female population, breast cancer is by far the most frequent cancer, followed by colorectal cancer. Between 1968 and 2002, cancer mortality decreased by 5% for men and by 19% for women. Cancer mortality reached a maximum in 1987 in the male population and in the last 15 years the decrease is larger among men than among women.