Today is World Cancer Day: WHO forecasts and new challenges in the fight against oncological diseases
Kyiv • UNN
Around 20 million cancer cases are recorded worldwide each year. By 2050, the number could increase by 77% due to aging, harmful habits, and pollution.
On February 4, the world celebrates World Cancer Day, aimed at raising awareness about oncology, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer, UNN reports.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 20 million new cancer cases are recorded worldwide each year, and this number continues to grow. At the same time, experts emphasize that up to 40% of cancers can be prevented by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, regularly undergoing medical examinations, and getting vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B.
Most common types of cancer and mortality
According to the Global Cancer Observatory, in 2022, the most common types of oncology were:
• Lung cancer – 2.5 million cases (12.4% of the total),
• Breast cancer – 2.3 million cases (11.6%),
• Colorectal cancer – 1.9 million cases (9.6%),
• Prostate cancer – 1.5 million cases (7.3%),
• Stomach cancer – 970 thousand cases (4.9%).
At the same time, lung cancer was the main cause of cancer mortality – in 2022, it caused 1.8 million deaths (18.7% of the total number of cancer deaths). This is followed by:
• Colorectal cancer – 900 thousand deaths (9.3%),
• Liver cancer – 760 thousand deaths (7.8%),
• Breast cancer – 670 thousand deaths (6.9%),
• Stomach cancer – 660 thousand deaths (6.8%).
Among women, breast cancer remains the most common type of cancer and cause of mortality, while among men, it is lung cancer.
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Forecast for 2050: rapid increase in cancer cases
Experts predict that by 2050, more than 35 million new cancer cases will be registered worldwide, which is 77% more than in 2022. The reasons for this increase are aging and population growth, as well as the prevalence of risk factors, including:
• smoking,
• alcohol abuse,
• obesity,
• air pollution.
According to WHO estimates, the largest increase in the number of cancer cases is expected in low-income countries, where there is no access to quality diagnostics and treatment.
Problems with cancer diagnosis in Ukraine
No less important is the problem of reducing the number of preventive examinations, particularly radiological studies such as chest X-rays and mammography. This issue has become even more relevant due to the deterioration of population mobility in recent years. As noted by Yuriy Kovalenko, Associate Professor of the Department of Radiology, Executive Secretary of the Association of Radiologists of Ukraine, the number of examinations performed has decreased, which leads to a certain number of lung and breast cancer cases not being detected at early stages.
"In recent years, due to many reasons, including the deterioration of population mobility, the number of preventive radiological examinations, particularly chest X-rays and mammograms, has decreased. This means that a certain number of lung and breast cancer cases have not been detected. On the one hand, this worsens the accuracy of statistical data, and on the other hand, it increases the number of neglected cases of lung and breast cancer, when their treatment is significantly more expensive and less effective... I think that the situation with the detection of other nosologies of cancer is no better. If instrumental diagnostics are not nearby, people usually turn to them when clinical symptoms appear, and this is often not an early stage of the process...", said Yuriy Kovalenko, Associate Professor of the Department of Radiology, Executive Secretary of the Association of Radiologists of Ukraine.