New report on global cancer burden in 2022 by world region and human development level

A new collaborative report from researchers at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) describes the current global cancer statistics for the year 2022 and the diversity of cancer profiles by world region and human development level. The report was published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

There were almost 20 million new cases of cancer and close to 10 million deaths from cancer in 2022. Demographics‐based predictions indicated that the annual number of new cases of cancer will reach 35 million by 2050, that is, a 77% increase from the number in 2022. Lung cancer was the most frequently diagnosed cancer in 2022 – representing almost 2.5 million new cases, or one in eight cancers, worldwide (12.4% of all cancers globally) – followed by cancers of the female breast (11.6%) and colorectum (9.6%). Lung cancer was also the leading cause of cancer death, being responsible for an estimated 1.8 million deaths (18.7%); the next most common causes were colorectal (9.3%) and liver cancer (7.8%).

The new report focuses on incidence and mortality patterns for the 10 most frequent cancer types and links these observations to the underlying determinants and prospects for cancer prevention and control on a global scale. The results reemphasize the need for a global escalation of targeted cancer control measures, including investments in prevention and addressing key risk factors for cancer, such as smoking, overweight and obesity, and infections.

Bray F, Laversanne M, Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, Soerjomataram I, Jemal A.
Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries.
CA Cancer J Clin, Published online 4 April 2024;
https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21834

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Explore the latest estimates of the global cancer burden available on the IARC Global Cancer Observatory platform