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More than 18 million new cancer cases expected worldwide this year
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An estimated 18.1 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed worldwide in 2018, according to a report released today by International Agency for Research on Cancer.
In addition, 9.6 million people around the world are expected to die of cancer this year.
“These new figures highlight that much remains to be done to address the alarming rise in the cancer burden globally, and that prevention has a key role to play,” Christopher Wild, PhD, director of International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), said in a press release. “Efficient prevention and early detection policies must be implemented urgently to complement treatments in order to control this devastating disease across the world.”
IARC’s report — published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians — estimates the increasing global burden of cancer by examining incidence of and mortality from 36 malignancies in 185 countries.
The report’s authors determined one in six women and one in five men worldwide will develop cancer during their lifetimes. One in 11 women and one in eight men are expected to die of the disease.
Among the report’s key findings:
The global cancer burden is increasing due to multiple factors. These include population growth and aging, as well as the evolving prevalence of cancer causes that are associated with economic and social development. In rapidly expanding economies, for example, cancers linked to lifestyles more typical of industrialized countries have become more common than those linked to infections or poverty.
Approximately half of the new cancer cases and more than half of the cancer-related deaths expected worldwide this year will occur in Asia, home to nearly 60% of the world’s population.
Europe — which has 9% of the worldwide population — will account for nearly one-quarter (23.4%) of global cancer cases and 20.3% of cancer deaths.
The Americas — home to 13.3% of the world’s population — will account for 21% of cancer incidence and 14.4% of cancer mortality this year.
The cancer types expected to account for the highest number of new cases this year are lung cancer (2.1 million diagnoses; 11.6% of global incidence burden), female breast cancer (2.1 million diagnoses; 11.6% of total), colorectal cancer (1.8 million diagnoses; 10.2% of total), prostate cancer (1.3 million cases; 7.1% of total) and stomach cancer (1 million cases; 5.7% of total).
Lung cancer is expected to account for the greatest number of deaths (1.8 million deaths; 18.4% of global total), followed by colorectal cancer (881,000; 9.2%), stomach cancer (783,000; 8.2%), liver cancer (782,000; 8.2%) and female breast cancer (627,000; 6.6%).
Incidence rates of certain cancers — including lung cancer among men in North America and Northern Europe, as well as cervical cancer in most regions other than sub-Saharan Africa — are expected to decline, possibly due to more effective prevention strategies.
Lung cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among men (14.5% of total), followed by prostate cancer (13.5%) and colorectal cancer (10.9%). Lung cancer is the leading cause of death among men, accounting for 22% of cancer deaths. Other leading causes of cancer mortality among men are liver cancer (10.2%) and stomach cancer (9.5%).
Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women (24.2% of total). Breast cancer also is the leading cause of cancer mortality among women (15%), followed by lung cancer (13.8%), colorectal cancer (9.5%) and cervical cancer (7.5%).
The report’s authors pointed to a concerning increase in lung cancer among women. The highest rates are expected in North America, Northern and Western Europe, China, Australia and New Zealand.
“Best practice measures embedded in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control have effectively reduced active smoking and prevented involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke in many countries,” Freddie Bray, head of the section of cancer surveillance at IARC, said in the release. “However, given that the tobacco epidemic is at different stages in different regions and in men and women, the results highlight the need to continue to put in place targeted and effective tobacco control policies in every country of the world.”