Cancer: the scale of the problem

Quick facts

• Nearly 11 million people are diagnosed with cancer every year, more than 3 million of them in Europe.
• Currently, there are more than 24.5 million people in the world living with the disease and 1 in 3 people will be diagnosed with it at some time during their life.
• In 2005, 7.6 million people died of cancer. Scientists project that number will continue to rise, with an estimated 9 million people dying in 2015 and 11.4 million dying in 2030 (WHO).

Incidence

Cancer incidence, or the number of new cancer diagnoses each year, is on the increase worldwide. Experts predict that if current trends continue, there will be a 50 percent increase in incidence between 2000 and 2020 with well over 15 million new cases a year diagnosed in 2020. The increase is mostly attributable to ageing populations in both developed and developing countries, current trends in smoking prevalence and the growing adoption of unhealthy lifestyles (bad diet and lack of exercise).

Worldwide

According to the latest estimates available (2002), there are about 10.8 million new diagnoses of cancer across the world every year, excluding non-melanoma skin cancers. The most common cancers worldwide are:

                                                 Number of cases                     % of total cancer cases

Lung                                          1,238,000                                 12.3

Breast                                       1,050,000                                  10.4

Colorectal                                     943,000                                   9.4

Europe

In 2006, cancer (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers) was diagnosed in 3,191,600 people in Europe. The most common cancers among Europeans were:

                                                 Number of cases                     % of all cancer cases

Breast                                       429,900                                    13.5

Colorectal                                  412,900                                    12.9

Lung                                         386,300                                     12.1

Mortality

Cancer now accounts for over one in eight of all deaths. In the decade since 1990, cancer deaths worldwide have increased by 18 percent, and if current trends continue, deaths are projected to rise to about 10 million a year by 2020. In some Western countries, cancer deaths have started to decline because of reduction in tobacco use, earlier detection and improved treatment.

Worldwide

The latest worldwide figures estimate that in 2002, 6,723,887 people died from cancer.

The six “top” cancer killers worldwide are:

Men                             Deaths                                               Women                        Deaths

Source: IARC Globocan 2002 estimates.

For more details see: www-dep.iarc.fr/

Europe

In 2006, 1,703,000 people died from cancer in Europe. The most common causes cancer death were:

                                                 Number of deaths                    % of all cancer deaths

Lung                                         334,800                                    19.7

Colorectal                                  207,400                                    12.2

Breast                                       131,900                                     7.8

Stomach                                   118,200                                      6.9

Survival

The chance of surviving cancer has improved substantially for many types of cancer because of advances in early detection and treatment. However, survival rates vary according to the type of tumour. The most advanced forms of treatment may produce a five-year survival rate of 75% or more for certain types of cancer, e.g. uterine, breast, testicular cancer and melanoma. By contrast, survival rates in cancer of the pancreas, liver, stomach, and lung are generally less than 15%.

Survival rates also vary between countries, and within countries, and those differences generally reflect the strength of cancer detection and treatment programmes. There is a widening gap between survival in Eastern Europe and most other parts of Europe and survival rates in Europe are generally still lower than those in the nine areas covered by the SEER programme in the USA, which reported in 2002 that for all cancers combined, 63 percent of people survive five years and that 20 years after diagnosis, 51 percent are still alive.

Data sources

• International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) GLOBOCAN 2002 estimates. www-dep.iarc.fr/
• Estimates of the cancer incidence and mortality in Europe in 2006. Boyle et al. Annals of Oncology. Volume 18 No. 3. July 2007, p 581-592.
• WHO (IARC) World Cancer Report 2003.