It is estimated that in 2022 there were 20 million cases of cancer and 9,7 million deaths from cancer, the World Health Organization's cancer research agency announced, and this growing burden hides the "significant inequality" between rich and poor countries, reports HRT.
Approximately one in five people get cancer during their lifetime, and one in nine men and one in fifteen women die from the disease, according to a statement by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) published on Thursday, on the eve of International Cancer Day, which is celebrated on the 4th. February.
But the risk of cancer varies depending on where the patient lives, the IARC said in its semi-annual report based on data from 185 countries and 36 types of cancer.
For example, in the most developed countries, every twelfth woman gets breast cancer during her lifetime, but only one in 71 women dies from it.
As HRT writes, in countries lower on the Human Development Index, one in 27 women gets breast cancer - partly because the population tends to be younger, but also as a result of less exposure to risk factors such as being overweight - but one in 48 women dies from it. .
Women in those countries "are less likely to be diagnosed ... and at much higher risk of dying from the disease due to late diagnosis and inadequate access to quality treatment," said Izabela Soerjomatarm, deputy head of IARC's cancer surveillance division.
The IARC also said that different types of cancer are now increasingly affecting the population as lifestyles change. For example, colon cancer is now the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of death. Colorectal cancer is particularly associated with age, as well as lifestyle factors such as obesity, as well as smoking and alcohol use.
However, lung cancer has also re-emerged as the most common cancer and leading cause of death, with 2,5 million new cases and 1,8 million deaths annually. The IARC said it was likely linked to persistent tobacco use in Asia.
Although the restrictions associated with the COVID pandemic have affected the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, the data so far - mostly only from high-income countries - show a minimal impact on survival, the agency added at a press conference, writes HRT.
IARC said that by 2050, the number of cases is likely to increase by 77 percent, to 35 million, as the population grows and ages. But the effect will be uneven: In poorer countries, the number of cases will rise by 142 percent, the agency said, and death rates will double.
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