The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) estimated that, globally, one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer over the course of their lifetime. Cancer is currently the second cause of death worldwide following cardiovascular illnesses, and it is expected that by 2030, cancer will be the number one killer in the world. In 2018 alone there were 18.1 million new cases and 9.6 million deaths. There is an increasing burden of cancer especially in rapidly growing economies and low and mid income countries which accounts for 60% of the cases. Some factors may contribute to this increment including population growth, aging and changing prevalence of causes of cancer (see figure 1).
Nearly half the new cases and more than half the deaths occur in Asia. Europe accounts for 23.4% of global cancer cases and 20.3% of cancer deaths. The Americas account for 21% of the incidence and 14.4 % of mortality worldwide. Africa is responsible for 5.8% and 7.3% globally incident cases and mortality respectively (see figure 1 and 2).
The three most common cancers in men globally are lung cancer (14.5%), prostatic cancer (13.5%) and colorectal cancer (10.9%) respectively. However, lung cancer (22%), liver cancer (10.2%) and stomach cancer (9.5%) are the top leading causes of cancer death. While breast cancer (24.2%), lung cancer and colorectal cancer are the most common cancers in females respectively, breast cancer (15%), lung cancer (13.8%) and colorectal cancer (9.5%) are responsible for top three causes of cancer death.
It is shown that there is a significant difference in cancer incidence and mortality among different regions and countries. As is indicated in figure 3, breast and lung cancers predominate globally but cervical cancer is still a serious problem in southern and West African countries.
Though there is no nationwide population based cancer registry, according to the Addis Ababa Cancer Registry (AACR) report on the incidence data based on the first two years of registration (2012–2013), there were 4139 newly diagnosed patients the majority of which (67%) were females. Cancers of the breast (31.5%) and cervix (14.1%) were the two most common cancers among females .
Sources:
GLOBOCAN/WHO Report 2018
AACR
Dr. Abdu Adem
Assistant Professor of Oncology
