Six modifiable risk factors linked to almost half of cancer deaths
Study projects cancer cases and deaths could double by 2050
- A global study projects a significant increase in cancer cases and deaths by 2050, with annual diagnoses potentially reaching 30.5 million and deaths 18.6 million, nearly double current figures.
- Cancer is increasingly affecting low and middle-income countries, which often lack adequate screening, diagnostic, and treatment capacities despite rapid lifestyle and environmental changes.
- In 2023, 18.5 million new cancer cases and 10.4 million deaths were estimated worldwide, with over two-thirds of these deaths occurring in less-resourced nations.
- About 41.7 per cent of cancer deaths in 2023 were attributed to six modifiable risks such as tobacco, alcohol, unhealthy diets, high body mass index, environmental exposures and air pollution.
- Addressing this growing crisis requires urgent global action, including strengthening public health policies, investing in early diagnosis and prevention, improving health systems, and collecting robust data.