Many people have a cancer diagnosis or know someone living with cancer, which might make it seem as though the incidence of this disease is on the rise. In this Special Feature, Medical News Today investigates the latest surveillance data and speaks with experts to find out if cancer rates are really increasing.
Cancer impacts people of all ethnicities, sexual identities, and economic backgrounds. Although cancer prevention and treatment strategies have improved over the years, cancer diagnoses appear to be rising. But have cancer rates really increased? And if so, what factors are playing a role? To try and answer these questions, Medical News Today investigated the latest data and statistics on cancer prevalence and mortality rates. We also spoke with two experts about cancer rates and the impact COVID-19 may have had on cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
According to one study published in JAMA OncologyTrusted Source, and based on data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study, 2019Trusted Source, 18.7 million people worldwide received a cancer diagnosis in 2010, and the total deaths from cancer numbered 8.29 million. Fast forward to 2019, and those numbers had increased significantly, with 23.6 million people receiving a new cancer diagnosis and records documenting 10 million cancer deaths. The scientists who conducted the research also found that among 22 groups of injuries and diseases studied, cancer was the second leading cause of death, years of life lost, and disability-adjusted life years.
The World Health Organization (WHO)Trusted Source indicates that the most common types of cancers diagnosed in 2020 were:
StatisticsTrusted Source indicate that males experience a higher cancer mortality rate than females. Additionally, the death rate from cancer is highest among Black males and lowest among Asian and Pacific Islander females. Yet despite these statistics, the American Cancer SocietyTrusted Source suggests that, in the United States, the overall cancer mortality rate has been steadily decreasing over the last 28 years.
