Cancer deaths rise to 9.6 million globally as populations age - Action News
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Health

Cancer deaths rise to 9.6 million globally as populations age

WHO agency sees 18.1 million new cancer cases in 2018

Nearly half of new cancer cases and more than half of cancer deaths worldwide in 2018 will be in Asia

Prevention efforts such as human papillomavirus vaccinations and stop-smoking campaigns may have helped reduce incidence rates for some cancers. (Joe Raedle/Getty)

Cancer will claim the lives of9.6 million people in 2018, accounting for one in eight of alldeaths among men and one in 11 among women, the World HealthOrganization's cancer research agency said on Wednesday.

In its GLOBOCAN report detailing prevalence and death ratesfrom many different types of cancer, the WHO's InternationalAgency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said the global cancerburden would rise to an estimated 18.1 million new cases thisyear. This was up from 14.1 million and 8.2 million deaths in 2012, when the last GLOBACAN survey was published.

IARC said the rising cancer burden characterized as thenumber of new cases, the prevalence, and the number of deaths was due to several factors, including social and economicdevelopment and growing and aging populations.

In emerging economies, it said, there is also a shift fromcancers related to poverty and infections towards cancers linkedto lifestyles and diets more typical of wealthier countries.

Efficient prevention efforts needed

Lung cancer mainly caused by smoking is the leadingcause of cancer death worldwide, the report said. And along withbreast cancer, lung cancer also causes among the highest numberof new cases of the disease: 2.1 million new cases of each areexpected to be diagnosed this year alone.

With an estimated 1.8 million new cases in 2018, colorectalor bowel cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer,followed by prostate cancer and then stomach cancer.



"These new figures highlight that much remains to be done toaddress the alarming rise in the cancer burden globally and thatprevention has a key role to play," IARC's director ChristopherWild said in a statement with the report.

He called for efficient prevention and early detectionpolicies to be implemented urgently "to control this devastatingdisease across the world."

IARC's report said prevention efforts such as stop-smokingcampaigns, screenings, and human papillomavirus vaccinations may have helped reduce incidence rates for some cancers, such aslung cancer among men in Northern Europe and North America andcervical cancer in most regions other than sub-Saharan Africa.

But it added that most countries still face an overall risein the number of cancer cases diagnosed and needing treatment.

Worldwide, the total number of people who are alive withinfive years of a cancer diagnosis, called the 5-year prevalence,is estimated to be 43.8 million.

Global patterns showed that for men and women combined,nearly half of new cancer cases and more than half of cancerdeaths worldwide in 2018 will be in Asia, in part because theregion has nearly 60 per cent of the global population.

Europe accounts for 23.4 per cent of global cancer cases and20.3 per cent of cancer deaths, although it has only 9 per cent ofthe global population.

The Americas have 13.3 per cent of the global population andaccount for 21 per cent of cancer cases and 14.4 per cent ofcancer deaths.