A Key Message on World Cancer Day, 4 February: Rising Cancer Burden Exposes Inequalities

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization (WHO), released important data on cancer statistics for 2022. The figures highlight the growing global cancer burden, cancer's disproportionate impact in low-income countries, and the urgent need to address inequalities.

Rising Global Cancer Burden and Inequalities at a Glance

1. Global Increase in Cancer

• New Cancer Cases: A 50% increase from 2012 to 2022.
• Cancer Deaths: Approximately 18% higher over the same period.
• 2050 Projection: Annual new cancer cases are expected to rise by 77% to 35.3 million.

2. Global Cancer Statistics for 2022

• Annual New Cases: 20 million
• Annual Cancer Deaths: 9.7 million
• Lifetime Risk: One in every 5 men and one in every 5 women will develop cancer. One in every 9 men and one in every 12 women will die from cancer.

3: Most Common Cancer Types (2022)

• Lung: 2.5 million new cases
• Breast: 2.3 million new cases
• Colorectal: 1.9 million new cases
• Prostate: 1.5 million new cases
• Stomach: 970,000 new cases

4: Cancers With the Highest Mortality (2022)

• Lung: 1.8 million deaths
• Colorectal: 900,000
• Liver: 760,000
• Breast: 670,000
• Stomach: 660,000

5: Differences by Sex

• Women: Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death.
• Men: Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death.

6: Cancer Inequalities

• Countries With a Low Human Development Index: Women in countries with a low Human Development Index (HDI) are less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than those in high-HDI countries: diagnosis rates are 50% lower than in more developed countries. Nevertheless, women in low-HDI countries face a much greater disadvantage in their risk of cancer death, reflecting factors such as late diagnosis and lack of access to quality treatment.
• Universal Health Coverage: Only 39% of countries include priority cancer services, and 28% include in their health services. Palliative Care

7: Future Projections

• In 2050: New cancer cases are projected to reach 35.3 million, with annual incidence rising particularly sharply in low-HDI countries, by 142%.

Details

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reported a global 50% increase in new cases and approximately 18% increase in cancer deaths between 2012 and 2022. It expects the global burden to continue growing over the next 30 years, with new cases increasing by 77% by 2050.

More specifically, data covering 36 cancer types and 185 countries estimated 20 million new cases and 9.7 million cancer deaths worldwide in 2022, compared with 14 million new cases and 8.2 million cancer-related deaths a decade earlier.

The new estimates suggest that one in five men and women will develop cancer during their lifetime, and approximately one in nine men and one in twelve women will die from it.

These figures are a wake-up call about cancer's current and future impact.

Data focusing on the United States published earlier this month by the American Cancer Society showed overall cancer mortality declining, but these gains were threatened by increasing incidence of common cancers, including breast, prostate, melanoma, and colorectal cancer.

According to the WHO report, five cancers—lung, breast, colorectal, liver, and stomach—accounted for approximately 50% of new cases and deaths worldwide in 2022.

Lung cancer was the most common worldwide, with around 2.5 million new cases, or 12.4% of the total. Breast cancer, described as a 'very close second', accounted for 2.3 million cases, or 11.6% of all new cases.

Colorectal cancer ranked third, with 1.9 million new cases, or 9.6% of the total, followed by prostate cancer with 1.5 million (7.3%) and stomach cancer with 970,000 (4.9%).

Lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer death, with 1.8 million deaths, or 18.7% of the total. It was followed by colorectal cancer with 900,000 deaths (9.3%), liver cancer with 760,000 (7.8%), breast cancer with 670,000 (6.9%), and stomach cancer with 660,000 (6.8%).

Differences by sex emerged in both incidence and mortality.

For women, breast cancer was the most commonly diagnosed cancer and leading cause of cancer death; for men, it was lung cancer.

Prostate and colorectal cancers were the second and third most common cancers in men. In women, lung and colorectal cancers ranked second and third for both new cases and deaths.

Cervical cancer ranked eighth in global incidence and ninth as a cause of cancer death, with 661,044 new cases and 348,186 deaths.

The Future Cancer Burden

WHO projects 35.3 million new cases by 2050, a 77% increase from the estimated 20 million in 2022. The rise reflects population growth and aging, as well as changes in exposure to risk factors such as tobacco, alcohol, obesity, and air pollution.

High-HDI countries are expected to experience the largest absolute increase, with an additional 4.8 million new cases in 2022 compared with 2050.

However, proportional increases will be most striking in low-HDI countries (142%) and medium-HDI countries (99%), which have the fewest resources to manage the burden. Cancer deaths in these countries are likewise expected to nearly double by 2050.

Although diagnosis and treatment are advancing, they often have a substantial economic impact. Growing inequality between countries will increasingly highlight differences in their ability to manage cancer. The current situation is already a global problem; under these dynamics, an earlier, exponentially intensifying burden is inevitable.