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Incidence
Around47%ofcancercasesand55%ofcancerdeathsoccurinlessdevelopedregions.(1)
Incidenceofcanceris15%formeninhigherdevelopedregionsand8%higherinwomen
CancerkillsmorepeopleeachyeargloballythanAIDS,tuberculosisandmalariacombined,the
numberofcancerdeathsareincreasingrapidly.(2)
Femalebreast,stomach,prostate,liver,colorectalandcervicalcancersconstitutemorethan58%of
theestimatedglobalcancerburden.(3)
Femalebreastcanceristheonlycancerwhichiscommoninallregions,regardlessoftheirlevelsof
development(3).Thissaid,lungcanceristhemostcommoncancerworldwide.Formeninmany
countriesitistheleadingcauseofcancerdeathsandforwomenthemostcommonformofcancer
deathinNorthAmerica,partsofEuropeandChina.(3)
30%ofcancerdeathsarelinkedto5behaviouralanddietaryrisks:highbodymassindex,lowfruit
andvegetableintake,lackofphysicalactivity,tobaccouseandalcoholuse.(4)
Tobaccousealoneisthemostcrucialriskfactorincausingcancerdeaths,itisresponsibleforover20%
ofglobalcancerdeathsand70%ofgloballungcancerdeaths.(4)
Otherleadingriskfactorsforcancerinlow-andmiddle-incomecountriesarechronicinfectionsfrom
hepatitisB(HBV),hepatitisCvirus(HCV)andsometypesofHumanPapillomaVirus(HPV.
Cervicalcancer,whichiscausedbyHPV,isaleadingcauseofcancerdeathamongwomeninlowincomecountries.Upto20%ofcancerdeathsareduetoinfectionbyHBVandHPV.(4)
Over 1.6 million new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed worldwide last year, a major conference
in Glasgow has been told (6)
Care
Only5%ofglobalspendingoncancerisinthedevelopingworld(1)
Predictions
In2008thenumberofnewcaseswas12.7million,ifcancerspecifictrendscontinueasexpected
thenby2030therewillbeanincreaseinannualincidenceofcancerto22.2million(3)
DifferentCancers
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Cancerisaleadingcauseofdeathworldwide,accountingfor8.2milliondeathsin2012.Themain
typesofcancerare:
Lung(1.59milliondeaths)
Liver(745000deaths)
Stomach(723000deaths)
Colorectal(694000deaths)
Breast(521000deaths)
Oesophagealcancer(400000deaths)(1).
Prevention
30%ofcancerscouldbeprevented.
Currentlyalmost4.2millionpeopleperyeardieprematurely(aged30to69years)dueto
thediseaseacrosstheworld
“Despiteexcitingadvances,thisReportshowsthatwecannottreatourwayoutofthe
cancerproblem,”statesDrChristopherWild,DirectorofIARCandco-editorofthebook.
“Morecommitmenttopreventionandearlydetectionisdesperatelyneededinorderto
complementimprovedtreatmentsandaddressthealarmingriseincancerburdenglobally.”
(5)
In2012,theworldwideburdenofcancerrosetoanestimated14millionnewcasesperyear,
afigureexpectedtoriseto22millionannuallywithinthenexttwodecades.(5)
Thespirallingcostsofthecancerburdenaredamagingtheeconomiesofeventherichest
countriesandarewaybeyondthereachofdevelopingcountries,aswellasplacing
impossiblestrainsonhealth-caresystems.In2010,thetotalannualeconomiccostofcancer
wasestimatedtoreachapproximatelyUS$1.16trillion.Yetabouthalfofallcancerscouldbe
avoidedifcurrentknowledgewasadequatelyimplemented.(5)
References:
1.
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4.
5.
6.
CancerResearchFactsheets
http://publications.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats
Scalingupcancerdiagnosisandtreatmentindevelopingcountries:WhatcanwelearnfromtheHIV/AIDSepidemic?Annalsof
Oncology,Vol.21No.4,pp.680-682
Bray,F.GlobalcancertransitionsaccordingtoHDI,TheLancetOncology,Vol.13,No.8.pp-790-801
WHOfactsheetNo297
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/
WorldCancerReportPressRelease
http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2014/pdfs/pr224_E.pdf
Prof.BoylespeakingattheEuropeanBreastCancerConferencehttp://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=23393