More than nine million people globally will die from cancer this year, about a fifth of them in Europe, according to a new analysis of the worldwide increase in the disease.
More than 18 million people will be diagnosed with the disease this year, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer analysis.
The analysis shows how rates of the disease are increasing in poorer countries – and how patterns of disease are changing in wealthier countries.
It shows that incidence of the disease is greatest in Europe. The continent is responsible for 23.4% of new cases – with just 9% of the global population.
Some 48.4% of new diagnoses will be in Asia – as will 57.3% of deaths, the IARC said.
Nearly one in five deaths – 18.4% – will be from lung cancer, which remains the most common male cancer in developed and developing countries, according to the analysis. It is the leading cause of female cancer death in 28 countries
The organisation, which is part of the World Health Organisation, says effective prevention programmes had led to decreases in rates of male lung cancer in Northern Europe and North America – and of cervical cancer throughout most of the world apart from sub-Saharan Africa.
It warns that most countries will face an increase in the number of patients diagnosed with cancer because of growing and ageing populations – together with the spread of factors that cause cancer, such as smoking, linked to economic development.
IARC director Dr Christopher Wild said: “These new figures highlight that much remains to be done to address the alarming rise in the cancer burden globally and that prevention has a key role to play.
“Efficient prevention and early detection policies must be implemented urgently to complement treatments in order to control this devastating disease across the world.”
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