In the next 25 years the increase and aging of the world population will boost the rate of cancer deaths almost 75%, up to 18.6 million deaths in 2050 and 30.5 million people will be diagnosed with cancer (61% more).
In addition, more than half of the new cases and two thirds of the deceased will be registered in low and medium -sized income countries, according to the latest report by the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), based on data from 204 countries and 47 types of cancer, and published in ‘The Lancet’.
The report explains that, despite the advances in the treatment of cancer and efforts to address risk factors, between 1990 and 2023, the number of new cases of cancer in the world has passed from 9 to 18.5 million (105%) and the number of deaths has risen to 10.4 million (74% more), in both cases excluding non -melanoma skin cancers.
The study attributes the majority of the increase in cases and deaths to aging and increased world population and 44 “potentially modifiable” habits such as tobacco consumption, diet or blood sugar level, which can be prevented.
The authors claim that it is imperative that those responsible for policies, governments and agencies make more efforts to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer at the national and global level.
“Cancer remains an important taxpayer to the burden of world diseases and our study anticipates that will grow substantially in the coming decades, disproportionately in countries with limited resources,” warns Lisa Force, principal author and researcher at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) of the University of Washington.
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“Guarantee equitable results in cancer worldwide will require greater efforts to reduce disparities in the provision of health services, such as access to precise and timely diagnoses, already treatments and quality support care,” concludes Force.
Differences by countries and income
Although the study shows an increase in cases and cancer deaths between 1990 and 2023, standardized by age reveals that the dead rate was reduced by 24%, a reduction driven by high and medium income countries.
On the other side of the balance, in low -income countries, these rates rose 24%, and in the case of average income countries 29%, data that underline “disproportionate growth” of cancer in environments with less resources, warns the report.
Compared to other developed countries, in 2023, Spain was one of the countries with the lowest incidence rate of cancer with 289 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to the 390 of France, 328 in Germany and 341 in the United States. In the case of the dead, Spain had 117 deaths from cancer, more than the United States (114) but more than Germany (133) and France (136).
Between 1990 and 2023, the number of cancer cases in Spain rose 4.4%, but mortality fell 28%, a situation similar to other European countries, except in France, where in this period the incidence of cancer rose 16%(the data, standardized by age, eliminate the effect of aging).
In the rest of the world, between 1990 and 2023, Lebanon had the highest percentage of incidence and mortality rates standardized by age, while the United Arab Emirates had the greatest decrease in the standardized incidence by age, and Kazakhstan had the greatest decrease in mortality rates.
By types of cancer, in 2023, breast cancer was the most diagnosed in the world, followed by trachea cancer, bronchi and lung, which was the main cause of cancer deaths.
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In Spain, this cancer was the most deceased in 2023, followed by colon and rectum cancer, prostate cancer, chest cancer and stomach.
Risk habits
The study reveals that 4.3 million of the 10.4 million dead for cancer registered in 2023 were due to 44 potentially modifiable risk factors such as tobacco, responsible for 21% of cancer deaths.
In low -income countries, however, the main risk factor was insecure sex (linked to 12.5% of all cancer deaths).
For sexes, 46% of cancer deaths in men in 2023 were due to “potentially modifiable” risks such as alcohol and tobacco consumption or diet, a figure that represents 36% among women, mainly due to tobacco and insecure sex.
Since four out of ten cancer deaths are related to modifiable risk factors “there are huge opportunities” for countries to act against these habits, advises Theo Vos of the Institute of Metric and Health Evaluation (IHME) and co -author of the study.
With EFE information.
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