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Every year around the world, tens of millions of people are diagnosed with cancer, and millions of people die from the disease. Now, a report from the American Cancer Society says: It projects that the number of people diagnosed with cancer will rise by 77 percent by 2050.
The report was published in the magazine on Thursday CA: Cancer Journal for CliniciansIn the year By 2022 – the most recent year for which data is available – nearly 20 million cancer cases were identified with 9.7 million cancer deaths.
Those estimates suggest that 1 out of 5 people who are alive now They will develop cancer in their lifetime: 1 in 9 men and 1 in 12 women will die from it.
Regarding the number of cases worldwide, “We think this number will reach 35 million by 2050, largely due to an aging population,” he said. Dr. William DautChief Scientific Officer of the American Cancer Society
Population growth and aging are the main causes of the global cancer burden, the new report says, with the global population expected to reach 9.7 billion in 2050, from nearly 8 billion in 2022.
But if more people use tobacco and more people are obese, along with other cancer risk factors, the expected number of cancer cases could rise even higher, Dowt warned, especially in low-income countries.
“Many of the cancer drivers we’ve seen now, like tobacco and obesity, are moving into low-income countries,” Dowt said, adding that this trend is worrisome. .
“These are countries that don’t have the tools to detect cancer early, treat cancer properly and prevent it in ways other countries do,” he said. “We are concerned that the increasing incidence, increasing mortality, particularly in low-income countries, is driven not only by traditional cancer drivers, but also by external factors such as tobacco and obesity.” He said.
The new report includes global data on cancer incidence and mortality International Cancer ObservatoryWorld Health Organization database
According to the data, In 2022, lung cancer will be the most frequently diagnosed disease worldwide, with approximately 2.5 million new cases and more than 1.8 million deaths.
Overall, the top 10 types of cancer in men and women account for more than 60% of all newly diagnosed cancer cases and cancer deaths, according to the report.
The most common types of cancer are lung, breast in women, colorectal, prostate, stomach, liver, thyroid, cervix, bladder and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, according to the report. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, followed by colorectal, liver, breast in women, stomach, pancreas, esophagus, prostate, uterus and leukemia.
Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in 37 countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, South America and Southeast Asia, according to the report. The HPV, or human papillomavirus, vaccine can reduce a person’s risk of cervical cancer, but only about 15% of eligible girls worldwide receive the vaccine, according to the American Cancer Society. There are also differences in cervical cancer screening.
“Over half of all cancer deaths worldwide are preventable, providing the most cost-effective and sustainable cancer control strategy.” Dr. Ahmedin JamalAmerican Cancer Society senior vice president for surveillance and health equity science and senior author of the study said in a news release. “Eliminating tobacco use alone would prevent 1 in 4 cancer deaths, or about 2.6 million cancer deaths.”
Although the causes of cancer can be complex, genetic or environmental, “50% of cancers are preventable.” Dr. Bilal SiddiquiAn oncologist and assistant professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, who was not involved in the new report, in an email.
“All patients should talk to their doctor to make sure they get an age-appropriate cancer diagnosis, and it’s important to make key lifestyle changes to reduce our risk of cancer, including stopping smoking, reducing alcohol consumption and getting more exercise,” he said.
Tobacco remains the “leading cause of lung cancer,” the report said. For other types of cancer, losing excess weight, reducing alcohol consumption, not smoking, and increasing physical activity can help lower a person’s risk.
Although we see lung cancers that are not related to smoking, the number one cause of lung cancer is smoking. And clearly, there is still work to be done in America and everywhere else to address the smoking epidemic,” said Dr. Harold Burstein, an oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and a professor at Harvard Medical School. Involved in the new American Cancer Society report.
“Interestingly, pollution and other airborne environmental exposures may increase the risk of lung cancer in many parts of the world.” And so efforts to improve clean air or reduce exposure to airborne pollutants are another important consideration,” Burstein said.
“Other things people can do to reduce their risk of cancer include early detection and better outcomes. In the US, we have very strong opportunities for screening with mammography, colonoscopy and Pap smears, but these are still underutilized in many parts of our society,” he said. In the most advanced economies, we’ve seen dramatic declines in deaths from breast cancer and colon cancer, perhaps as much as half according to earlier data.”
The new report details how low-income countries have low rates of cancer, but how many have high rates of cancer, especially because they do not have access to diagnostic tools to detect the disease early and lack access to high-quality medical services.
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The report helps highlight not only these global cancer trends, but also how cancer is becoming a “major health problem” in low- and middle-income regions of the world, Burstein said.
“Cancer is a wave coming to their community,” he said.
“Most countries in sub-Saharan Africa do not have screening mammograms. They don’t have screening mammograms in China. “In many parts of the world, they don’t have regular colonoscopy coverage,” he said. “In the next 25 years, the prevalence of cancer will double in low- and middle-income countries,” the report said. And from the spread of both, the need for early detection and screening, then the complex treatment and care of cancer patients will be a big challenge for the already developed health care systems.