Global cancer deaths predicted to double by 2030

A new report projects that global cancer deaths will more than double by 2030, a rise mainly fuelled by a dramatic increase in cancer incidence in low-to-middle income countries such as Russia, China, and India.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) report predicts that cancer will become the leading cause of death worldwide by 2010. The global burden of cancer doubled between 1975 and 2000, and the IARC predicts that it will double again by 2020 and nearly triple by 2030.  

In 2007 there were 12 million new cancers and just under 8 million cancer deaths worldwide, by 2030 it is estimated that there will be 27 million new cancer diagnoses and 17 million cancer deaths each year.

In 1970, just 15% of cancers occurred in low-to-middle income countries. Today, more than half of cancer cases and two-thirds of cancer deaths occur in these countries. The report cites several reasons as to why the incidence of cancer is rising in low-to-middle income countries, including dramatic population increases and increasing adoption of Western habits, such as smoking and high-fat diets.

News release: Leading US cancer organizations unite against the growing global cancer burden. American Cancer Society. December 9th 2008.