Day 39 of 365
Week 2 of February
The cancer problem
This week we will look into data, statistics and research on what exactly is the cancer problem globally and locally! To Start us of, the global burden of cancer!
Global cancer burden The global cancer burden is estimated to have risen to 18.1 million new cases and 9.6 million deaths in
2018. One in 5 men and one in 6 women worldwide develop cancer during their lifetime, and one in 8 men and one in 11 women die from the disease. Worldwide, the total number of people who are alive within 5 years of a cancer diagnosis, called the 5-year prevalence, is estimated to be 43.8 million.
The increasing cancer burden is due to several factors, including population growth and ageing as well as the changing prevalence of certain causes of cancer linked to social and economic development. This is particularly true in rapidly growing economies, where a shift is observed from cancers related to poverty and infections to cancers associated with lifestyles more typical of industrialized countries. Effective prevention efforts may explain the observed decrease in incidence rates for some cancers, such
as lung cancer (e.g. in men in Northern Europe and North America) and cervical cancer (e.g. in most regions apart from Sub-Saharan Africa). However, the new data show that most countries are still faced with an increase in the absolute number of cases being diagnosed and requiring treatment and care.
Global patterns show that for men and women combined, nearly half of the new cases and more than half of the cancer deaths worldwide in 2018 are estimated to occur in Asia, in part because the region has nearly 60% of the global population. Europe accounts for 23.4% of the global cancer cases and 20.3% of the cancer deaths, although it has only 9.0% of the global population. The Americas have 13.3% of the global population and account for 21.0% of incidence and 14.4% of mortality worldwide. In contrast to other world regions, the proportions of cancer deaths in Asia and in Africa (57.3% and 7.3%, respectively
DAY 40 of 365
MAJOR CANCER TYPES BY 2018
Cancers of the lung, female breast, and colorectum are the top three cancer types in terms of incidence, and are ranked within the top five in terms of mortality (first, fifth, and second, respectively). Together, these three cancer types are responsible for one third of the cancer incidence and mortality burden worldwide.
Cancers of the lung and female breast are the leading types worldwide in terms of the number of new cases; for each of these types, approximately 2.1 million diagnoses are estimated in 2018, contributing about 11.6% of the total cancer incidence burden. Colorectal cancer (1.8 million cases, 10.2% of the total) is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer, prostate cancer is the fourth (1.3 million cases, 7.1%), and stomach cancer is the fifth (1.0 million cases, 5.7%).Lung cancer is also responsible for the largest number of deaths (1.8 million deaths, 18.4% of the total)
DAY 41 of 365
GLOBAL CANCER PATERNS BY LEVELS OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX.
Definition: The Human Development Index (HDI) is a measure of a country’s overall achievement in its social and economic dimensions. The social and economic dimensions of a country are based on the health of people, their level of education attainment and their standard of living.
For many cancers, overall new cases rates in countries with high or very high HDI1(Developed countries ) are generally 2–3 times those in countries with low or medium HDI (Low and middle income countries ). In men, lung cancer ranks first and prostate cancer second in number of new cases in both developed and developing countries. In women, number of new cases rates for breast cancer far exceed those for other cancers in both developed and developing countries, followed by colorectal cancer in developed countries and cervical cancer in developing countries.
source IARC
DAY 42 OF 365
GLOBAL CANCER PATTERNS BY SEX
Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men (14.5% of the total cases in men and 8.4% in women) and the leading cause of cancer death in men (22.0%, i.e. about one in 5 of all cancer deaths). In men, this is followed by prostate cancer (13.5%) and colorectal cancer (10.9%) for incidence and liver cancer (10.2%) and stomach cancer (9.5%) for mortality.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women (24.2%, i.e. about one in 4 of all new cancer cases diagnosed in women worldwide are breast cancer), and the cancer is the most common in 154 of the 185 countries included in GLOBOCAN 2018. Breast cancer is also the leading cause of cancer death in women (15.0%), followed by lung cancer (13.8%) and colorectal cancer (9.5%), which are also the third and second most common types of cancer, respectively; cervical cancer ranks fourth for both incidence (6.6%) and mortality (7.5%)
DAY 43 OF 365
WORRYING RISE IN LUNG CANCER IN WOMEN
Lung cancer is a leading cause of death in both men and women and is the leading cause of cancer death in women in 28 countries. The highest incidence rates in women are seen in North America, Northern and
Western Europe (notably in Denmark and The Netherlands), China, and Australia and New Zealand, with Hungary topping the list. “Best practice measures embedded in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control have effectively reduced active smoking and prevented involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke in many
countries,” says Dr Freddie Bray, Head of the Section of Cancer Surveillance at IARC.
“However, given that the tobacco epidemic is at different stages in different regions and in men and women, the results highlight the need to continue to put in place targeted and effective tobacco control policies in every country of the world.” “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,” says IARC Director Dr Christopher Wild. “Efficient prevention and early detection policies must be implemented urgently to complement treatments in order to control this devastating disease across the world.”
DAY 44 OF 365
CHILDHOOD CANCER STATISTICS
Cancer is a leading cause of death for children and adolescents worldwide. In high-income countries more than 80% of children with cancer are cured, but in many LMICs only 20% are cured.
The reasons for lower survival rates in LMICs include an inability to obtain an accurate diagnosis, inaccessible therapy, abandonment of treatment, death from toxicity (side effects), and excess relapse, in part due to lack of access to essential medicines and technologies addressing each of these gaps improves survival and can be highly cost-effective.
DAY 45 OF 365
IS CANCER UNBEATABLE?
Over the past 7 days we have looked at how cancer statistics look like. Shocking isn’t it which Begs the question, CAN WE BEAT CANCER?
Research suggests that only five percent of cancers are hereditary. That means the non-inherited causes of cancer — the lifestyle choices we make, the foods we eat, and our physical activity levels — have a direct impact on our overall cancer risk.
The American Cancer Society reports that half of all men and one-third of all women will develop cancer in their lifetimes. Do what you can to avoid becoming a part of these statistics. Take steps to reduce your risk for cancer now!
NEXT 7 days we look at what causes cancer but one thing for sure!
WE WILL BEAT CANCER!
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