News Center- Over 35 million new cancer cases are predicted in 2050, a 77% increase from the estimated 20 million cases in 2022, said the report released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), cancer agency of the World Health Organization (WHO).

WHO also published survey results from 115 countries, showing a majority of countries do not adequately finance priority cancer and palliative care services, as part of universal health coverage (UHC).

“The rapidly growing global cancer burden reflects both population ageing and growth, as well as changes to people’s exposure to risk factors, several of which are associated with socioeconomic development. Tobacco, alcohol and obesity are key factors behind the increasing incidence of cancer, with air pollution still a key driver of environmental risk factors,” the report said.

In 2022, there were an estimated 20 million new cancer cases and 9.7 million deaths. The estimated number of people who were alive within five years following a cancer diagnosis was 53.5 million. About one in five people develop cancer in their lifetime, approximately one in nine men and one in 12 women die from the disease, according to the report.

Three major cancer types in 2022

The new estimates by IARC’s Global Cancer Observatory show that 10 types of cancer collectively comprised around two-thirds of new cases and deaths globally in 2022. Data covers 185 countries and 36 cancers. According to the report, lung, breast and colorectal cancers were three most common cancer types in 2022.

“Lung cancer was the most commonly occurring cancer worldwide with 2.5 million new cases accounting for 12.4% of the total new cases. Female breast cancer ranked second (2.3 million cases, 11.6%), followed by colorectal cancer (1.9 million cases, 9.6%), prostate cancer (1.5 million cases, 7.3%), and stomach cancer (970 000 cases, 4.9%).”

According to the report, breast cancer was the most common cancer in women in the vast majority of countries (157 of 185) in 2022.

Striking cancer inequity by Human Development Index (HDI)

“Global estimates reveal striking inequities in the cancer burden according to human development. This is particularly true for breast cancer. In countries with a very high HDI, 1 in 12 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime and 1 in 71 women die of it. By contrast, in countries with a low HDI; while only one in 27 women is diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, one in 48 women will die from it,” the report said.

“Women in lower HDI countries are 50% less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than women in high HDI countries, yet they are at a much higher risk of dying of the disease due to late diagnosis and inadequate access to quality treatment,” said Dr Isabelle Soerjomataram, Deputy Head of the Cancer Surveillance Branch at IARC.