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Global Burden of Cancer

Prevalence, Pattern, and Trends

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Handbook of Global Health

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Abstract

This chapter provides a summary of the global burden of cancer based on population-based cancer data and registries including the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the American Cancer Society. Global Cancer. Statistics show that 1 in 5 men and 1 in 6 women worldwide will develop cancer during their lifetime, and 1 in 8 men and 1 in 11 women will die from cancer globally. The GLOBOCAN data shows an estimated 18.1 million new cancer cases and 9.6 million cancer deaths in 2018. Out of these, lung cancer was the most diagnosed cancer in both sexes combined (11.6% of the total cases) and the leading cause of death (18.4% of total cancer deaths), followed by female breast cancer (11.6%), prostate cancer (7.1%), and colorectal cancer (6.1%) for incidence and for mortality colorectal cancer (9.2%), stomach cancer (8.2%), and liver cancer (8.2%). However, high-quality data from population-based cancer registries are not available in most low- and middle-income countries.

Overall, global data shows that 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.

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Acknowledgments

The preparation and writing of this chapter would not have been possible without the contribution of data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer and their work in producing GLOBOCAN 2018 (gco.iarc.fr) alongside the work of cancer registrars worldwide and the American Cancer Society Global Cancer Facts and Figure – 4th edition publication.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Muhimbili University of health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Twalib A. Ngoma

  2. Ocean Road Cancer Institute, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Mamsau Ngoma

Authors
  1. Twalib A. Ngoma
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  2. Mamsau Ngoma
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Twalib A. Ngoma .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Institute of International and Global Health Programme, Geneva, Switzerland

    Ilona Kickbusch

  2. Charité Foundation, Berlin, Germany

    Detlev Ganten

  3. World Health Organization, Regional Office, Brazzaville, Congo, Demographic Republic (Zaire)

    Matshidiso Moeti

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Ngoma, T.A., Ngoma, M. (2021). Global Burden of Cancer. In: Kickbusch, I., Ganten, D., Moeti, M. (eds) Handbook of Global Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45009-0_26

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