Four out of ten people are diagnosed with cancer in Switzerland annually, according to a report by the Federal Statistics Office.
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Cases of melanoma, prostate and breast cancer are higher than the European average, the study of cancer cases between 1983 and 2007 found.
Actual deaths from melanoma and prostate cancer are slightly higher in Switzerland than the European average, while deaths from breast cancer are lower.
Around 35,000 people are diagnosed with cancer in Switzerland each year, with 16,000 dying from it.
Increases in recorded cancer cases, including for prostate cancer rates which tripled to 5,700 between 1983 and 2007, were often due to improved screening and diagnostic methods, the study found. Death rates due to prostate cancer declined 18 per cent between 1993 and 2007.
A 16 per cent rise in the number of lung cancer cases among women between 1998 and 2007 was put down to an increased instance of smoking among young women.
Rates of thyroid cancer increased by 15 per cent among women and 24 per cent among men and melanoma rates increased 12 per cent among women and 11 per cent among men.
Uterine cancer rates declined 31 per cent, while stomach cancer and lung cancer among men declined 22 per cent and eight per cent respectively.
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