Sharp rise in cancer cases, deaths worldwide: WHO

11 per cent rise in cases and 8 per cent rise in deaths; over one-fifth of all new cases diagnosed in India

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality in the world, shows the latest data released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), specialised cancer agency of the World Health Organisation.

Breast cancer emerged as the most common cancer among women. Figures also show that almost 70 per cent of the global cases are being reported from areas with lower levels of development, and more than one-fifth of all new cases are diagnosed in India. The data has been generated from the new version of IARC’s online database, GLOBOCAN 2012. It provides the most recent estimates for 28 types of cancer in 184 countries worldwide.

Cancer facts
 
New cancer cases in 2012:
14.1 million

Cancer-related deaths in 2012:
8.2 million

New Cancer cases in 2008:
12 million

Cancer-related deaths in 2008:
7.6 million

Most commonly diagnosed cancers:

1.8 million cases of lung cancer (13%);
1.7 million cases of breast cancer (11.9%);
1.4 million cases of cancer of colorectum (9.7%)
 
Shift in burden

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