The World Health Organization (WHO) has said the number of new cancer cases globally will reach 35 million in 2050, 77 per cent higher than the figure in 2022.
A survey conducted by the WHO’s cancer arm, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), cited tobacco use, alcohol consumption and obesity as key factors behind the increasing incidence of cancer, as well as population ageing and growth.
The IARC predicts there will be more than 35 million new cancer cases by 2050, an increase of 77 per cent from 2022 levels, and that deaths will have nearly doubled since 2012 to more than 18 million.
Cancer statistics 2022
IARC’s global cancer observatory, which covers 185 countries and 36 types of cancer, shows that 10 types of cancer accounted for about two-thirds of new cases and deaths globally in 2022.
Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide, accounting for 12.4 per cent of new cases and 18.7 per cent of deaths.
Female breast cancer is the second most common form, but while it accounts for 11.6 per cent of cases, it causes fewer than 7 per cent of deaths. Other major causes of death include bowel liver and stomach cancer.
Inequalities are particularly pointed in breast cancer. Women in lower-income countries are 50 per cent less likely to be diagnosed than women in higher-income countries, putting them at a “much higher risk of dying of the disease due to late diagnosis and inadequate access to quality treatment”, said Dr Isabelle Soerjomataram, the deputy head of the IARC’s cancer surveillance branch.
One in 12 women in higher-income countries are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime and one in 71 will die of it, the figures show. In poorer countries, only one in 27 women are diagnosed in their lifetime, but one in 48 will die of the disease.
Despite being entirely preventable, cervical cancer is the eighth most common cancer globally and the ninth biggest cause of cancer death, accounting for 661,044 new cases and 348,186 deaths. It is the most common cancer in women in 25 countries, many of which are in sub-Saharan Africa.
Responding to the figures, the head of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), Dr Cary Adams, said: “Despite the progress that has been made in the early detection of cancers and the treatment and care of cancer patients, significant disparities in cancer treatment outcomes exist not only between high and low-income regions of the world, but also within countries.
Dr Adams said where someone lives should not determine whether they live, nothing that tools exist to enable governments to prioritise cancer care, and to ensure that everyone has access to affordable, quality services.
“This is not just a resource issue but a matter of political will,” he said.
Lower-income burden
The IARC also highlighted that the threat of cancer varies depending on where a patient lives.
The most-developed countries are expected to record the greatest increases in case numbers, with an additional 4.8 million new cases predicted in 2050 compared with 2022 estimates, the agency said.
But in terms of percentages, countries on the low end of the Human Development Index (HDI) – used by the United Nations as a marker of societal and economic development – will see the greatest proportional increase, up 142 per cent.
Meanwhile, countries in the medium range are predicted to record a 99 per cent increase, it said.