WHO predicts the number of global cancer cases will increase by more than 75% by 2050.

The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that by 2050, global cancer cases will increase by more than 75% .

Latest data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) under WHO clearly shows the increasing burden of this disease, from 14.1 million new cases and 8.2 million deaths worldwide. world in 2012 to 20 million new cases and 9.7 million deaths a decade later.

Smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity are the main factors leading to increased cancer incidence. (Illustration photo: Getty Images).

IARC predicts there will be more than 35 million new cancer cases by 2050, a 77% increase from 2022 levels, and deaths will nearly double from 2012 levels to more than 18 million.

According to IARC, smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity are the main factors leading to the increasing incidence of cancer, along with aging and population growth. IARC predicts that high-income countries will record 4.8 million new cases by 2050.

Lower income countries will have the largest increase in new cases . Cancer mortality rates in low-income countries are predicted to nearly double. 'The impact of this increase will not be uniform across countries,' said Freddie Bray, head of IARC's cancer surveillance division .

According to IARC research in 185 countries with 36 types of cancer, the results show that 10 types of cancer account for two-thirds of new cases and deaths globally in 2022. Lung cancer is the most common , accounting for 12.4% of new cases and 18.7% of deaths. Breast cancer is the second most common form, accounting for 11.6% and causing nearly 7% of deaths. Other types of cancer that cause major deaths include liver and stomach cancers.

Ms. Isabelle Soerjomataram at IARC's cancer surveillance unit assessed that inequalities were especially evident in breast cancer. Isabelle said women in low-income countries are 50% less likely to be diagnosed than women in high-income countries, putting them at a much higher risk of dying from the disease because late diagnosis and inadequate access to quality treatment.

Data show that 1 in 12 women in high-income countries will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, and 1 in 71 women will die from the disease. In poorer countries, only 1 in 27 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, but the mortality rate is 1 in 48.

Although completely preventable, cervical cancer is the eighth most common cancer globally and the ninth largest cause of death. It is the most common cancer in women in 25 countries, many of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

In response to these figures, Ms. Cary Adams, head of the International Union for Cancer Control, commented: 'Despite progress in early detection as well as treatment and care of cancer patients, there is still Significant disparities in treatment outcomes exist not only between high- and low-income regions of the world but also within individual countries. There are tools to enable governments to prioritize cancer care and ensure that everyone has access to quality, affordable services. This is not just a matter of resources but also a matter of political will'.

Ms. Panagiota Mitrou said such staggering figures raise a global alarm about the huge inequalities in cancer incidence and mortality that exist between countries. She concluded: 'Now is the time to take this global crisis seriously if we want to turn the tide' .