WHO predicts a 77% increase in cases by 2050

The International Agency for Research on Cancer points out that tobacco, alcohol, obesity and air pollution are additional important factors.

Worrying predictions. About 35 million new cases of cancer are expected to be detected in 2050, or 77% more than in 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) agency specializing in the disease said Thursday.

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), “The rapid increase in the global burden of cancer reflects population aging and growth as well as changes in people’s exposure to risk factors.”

The latter cites tobacco, alcohol, obesity and air pollution as “major factors in increasing incidence”.

Asia is particularly affected

The agency specializing in this disease, IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer), estimates the number of cancers diagnosed worldwide in 2022 to be 19.96 million.

Based on data from 185 countries, IARC expects the annual number of new cases diagnosed to increase by 50% between 2022 and 2040 (about 30 million) and 77% between 2022 and 2050 (35 million expected).

Dr Freddie Bray, head of the IARC Cancer Surveillance Unit, estimates that on average one in five people will develop cancer during their lifetime.

According to the American Institute IHME (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation), in 2019 the number of cancers in the world has increased by more than 25% over the decade.

According to IARC (9.8 million) almost half of the cases detected in 2022 are concentrated in Asia, a logical figure if we consider that more than half of the world’s population lives in this region.

Less logical considering the demographic weight, Europe (in a broad sense, including Russia) alone concentrates about a quarter of the diagnoses (4.5 million).

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