Global Cancer – the number of new cancer cases could increase by 67% by 2050 compared to 2024.
The warning comes after a joint study by the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) found that in 2024, there were about 21 million new cases of cancer worldwide, with 9.8 million deaths.
This estimate suggests that in the next few decades, one in five people in the world may face cancer at some point in their lives, while one in nine men and one in 13 women are at risk of dying from cancer.
But by 2050, the number of annual cancer cases is expected to increase by 67% to 67 million.
The researchers said that cancer is one of the major medical challenges of the 21st century and a major obstacle to increasing average life expectancy worldwide.
He further said that understanding the rate of spread of the disease will help in controlling or preventing cancer.
He said that currently, about 50% of deaths from cancer are preventable, for which it is necessary to enable early diagnosis and timely treatment.
According to the IARC database, cases and deaths of 34 types of cancer have increased in 186 countries.
But the study also revealed that cancer is not spreading evenly in every region of the world.
Its rate is higher in Australia and New Zealand, while the rate is lower in Africa and South and Central Asia.
Lung cancer is currently the most common type of the disease worldwide and during 2024, approximately 2.6 million new cases were reported, while 1.9 million deaths occurred.
Breast cancer is the second most common type, with 2.4 million cases confirmed, while 694,000 deaths occurred.
Bowel cancer is the third most common type of cancer worldwide, with over 2 million new cases and 918,000 deaths.
Liver cancer has 843,000 cases and 732,000 deaths, making it the third most common type of cancer in terms of deaths.
Bladder cancer is the second most common cancer in men, with 1.5 million cases and 420,000 deaths.
Stomach, cervical and pancreatic cancers are also increasing rapidly.
Stomach cancer has 980,000 new cases and 642,000 deaths.
Thyroid cancer has also been diagnosed with 959,000 cases, making it the sixth most common type of cancer in the world.
