Up to 70% of premature cancer deaths among women are preventable, WHO-led analysis shows
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Key takeaways:
- Most premature cancer deaths among women are preventable.
- Twice as many premature cancer deaths among women occur in countries ranked low on the U.N.’s Human Development Index.
Nearly seven in 10 premature cancer-related deaths among women could have been avoided through primary prevention, early detection or suitable access to cancer care, according to a report.
The results of the study led by WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) are part of findings published in The Lancet Global Health and are accompanied by a report on “Women, power and cancer” in The Lancet.
The analysis estimated that 5.3 million individuals died prematurely of cancer in 2020, including 2.3 million women. Of the premature cancer-related deaths among women aged 70 or younger, approximately 1.3 million could have been avoided through primary prevention methods, whereas the remaining approximately 800,000 deaths could have been avoided through access to timely standard cancer care.
Results also revealed that women who live in countries ranked low on the U.N.’s Human Development Index experienced a larger proportion (72% vs. 36%) of premature cancer deaths compared with women who live in countries that rank high on the index.
“Globally, there are marked inequalities between countries in reaching the target of reducing premature mortality from noncommunicable diseases, including cancer, set out by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” Isabelle Soerjomataram, MD, PhD, deputy head of the cancer surveillance branch at IARC, said in a press release. “Greater investments in cancer prevention programs can reduce the prevalence of key risk factors for cancer, and increased coverage of vaccination alongside early diagnosis and screening linked to timely treatment can and must address the current cancer inequalities that are seen worldwide.”
Researchers based the report and analysis on a population-based study using data from the IARC's GLOBOCAN 2020 database that accounted for country location, cancer type, sex and age group. They calculated crude and age-adjusted cancer-specific years of life lost for 36 cancer types across 185 countries for the analysis.
Global results showed an estimated 183 million years of life lost from premature cancer deaths in 2020, with researchers noting 68% as being preventable and a further 32% as treatable.
Men comprised an estimated 2.9 million premature cancer deaths in 2020. Compared with women, men had a higher proportion (70.3% vs. 65.2%) of preventable premature life years lost but a lower proportion of treatable premature life years lost (29.7% vs. 34.8%).
References:
- Frick C, et al. Lancet Glob Health. 2023;doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00406-0.
- Ginsburg O, et al. Lancet. 2023;doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01701-4.
- Researchers from IARC and partners find that almost 7 in 10 premature cancer deaths in women could have been prevented (press release). Available at: https://www.iarc.who.int/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/pr340.pdf. Published Sept. 27, 2023. Accessed Sept. 28, 2023.
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Ginsburg O, et al. Lancet. 2023;doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01701-4.
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