The global cancer burden is expected to rise sharply over the next three decades, with annual new cases projected to reach 34 million by 2050, according to the latest GLOBOCAN estimates.
The figure represents a 67 per cent increase from the 20.6 million new cancer cases recorded worldwide in 2024.
The report, released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the specialised cancer agency of the World Health Organisation (WHO), also projected that annual cancer deaths could rise to 17.5 million by 2050, nearly 80 per cent above the 9.8 million deaths recorded in 2024.
The latest estimates provide a global picture of cancer incidence and mortality across countries, regions, age groups and sexes.
Of the 20.6 million new cases recorded in 2024, 10.6 million occurred among men and 10 million among women.
Men also accounted for 56 per cent of the estimated 9.8 million cancer deaths, while women accounted for 44 per cent.
Head of the Cancer Surveillance Branch at IARC, Freddie Bray, said the figures showed the disproportionate impact of cancer on men.
“One in nine men and one in 13 women die from cancer,” Bray said, attributing the difference to variations in cancer types and the generally poorer prognosis of cancers affecting men.
Wide Global Inequalities
The report highlighted significant differences in cancer incidence and mortality across countries, driven by population size, ageing, exposure to risk factors and unequal access to prevention and treatment.
China accounts for about one in four cancer cases and one in four cancer deaths globally.
Europe, despite having only 9.2 per cent of the world’s population, accounts for more than 20 per cent of global cancer incidence.
IARC said standardised cancer incidence rates vary by as much as threefold between countries, while mortality rates can differ by up to fivefold.
Countries such as Australia and Denmark recorded some of the highest incidence rates, while some of the lowest were reported in parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
Mortality rates were highest in Eastern Europe and Melanesia, with individual countries also recording particularly high burdens from specific cancers.
For instance, liver cancer remains a major burden in Mongolia, while cervical cancer has a particularly high impact in Zimbabwe.
Bray said the disparities reflected differences not only in the risk of developing cancer but also in early detection, diagnosis and access to effective treatment.
“To simply maintain current numbers of cases and deaths, we would need a 2 percent decline in both incidence and mortality every year – and we are nowhere near that,” he warned.
Lung, Breast and Prostate Cancers
Lung cancer remains the world’s leading cancer in terms of both incidence and mortality. It is also the leading cause of cancer death in 89 countries, particularly among men.
Breast cancer remains one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers worldwide and, outside China, is the most commonly diagnosed cancer across all levels of the Human Development Index.
Among women, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in 164 countries and the leading cause of cancer death in 122 countries.
Prostate cancer, meanwhile, is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men in 123 countries, partly due to increased diagnostic testing.
IARC said cancer patterns are increasingly being shaped by sex, economic development, ageing populations and infections.
In sub-Saharan Africa, breast and cervical cancers together account for more than half of all cancers among women, while infection-related cancers are responsible for about 80 per cent of preventable cancers in the region.
Prevention and Early Detection
The agency warned that continued tobacco use, ageing populations and persistent inequalities in cancer control could further drive up cancer cases and deaths.
Although cancer mortality has started to decline in some high-income countries due to prevention, earlier detection and improved treatment, incidence continues to increase in most settings.
The report also identified inadequate cancer data as a major weakness in the global response.
Only one in three countries currently reports high-quality cancer incidence data, while just one in four has reliable mortality data.
According to IARC, these gaps make it difficult for governments to accurately assess their cancer burden, plan health services, allocate resources and determine whether interventions are effective.
The Union for International Cancer Control said the estimates underscored the need for countries to strengthen national cancer control plans and invest in prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment.
It noted that about half of cancer deaths are considered avoidable through proven measures such as tobacco control, vaccination, screening and equitable access to effective treatment.
Meanwhile, the WHO’s Global Status Report on Cancer 2026, also based on GLOBOCAN 2024 data, found that progress against cancer remains uneven, with major gaps in prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
The report also highlighted health-system constraints that delay timely care in many countries, as well as weaknesses in cancer surveillance and the financial burden cancer places on patients and families.
The latest projections suggest that without stronger prevention, early detection and treatment programmes, the number of people developing and dying from cancer could increase dramatically by 2050.
