Cancer cases set to rise 67% by 2050 — GLOBOCAN

…. 20.6m cases, 9.8m deaths recorded worldwide in 2024

By Chioma Obinna

The just-released GLOBOCAN report has revealed that the global cancer burden is rising sharply, with 20.6 million new cases and 9.8 million deaths recorded worldwide in 2024. It also showed that deep inequalities in prevention, early detection, treatment and cancer surveillance continue to leave millions at risk.

The latest estimates by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the World Health Organization’s specialised cancer agency, also projected that annual new cancer cases could rise to 34 million by 2050, a 67 per cent increase from 2024, while cancer deaths could climb to 17.5 million, nearly 80 per cent higher than the current level.

The estimates, contained in the new GLOBOCAN 2024 report, were released as IARC marked its 60th anniversary and provide a comprehensive picture of cancer incidence and mortality across countries, regions, age groups and sexes.

According to the report, 10.6 million of the 20.6 million new cases recorded in 2024 occurred among men and 10 million among women.

Men accounted for 56 per cent of the estimated 9.8 million cancer deaths, while women accounted for 44 per cent.

Commenting on the report, Head of the Cancer Surveillance Branch at IARC, Freddie Bray said the figures reflected the disproportionate impact of cancer on men.

“One in nine men and one in 13 women die from cancer. This reflects the variation in cancer types between men and women and the generally poorer prognosis of cancers affecting men,” he said.

The report also revealed striking geographical disparities in the global cancer burden, driven by population size, ageing, exposure to risk factors and unequal access to prevention and care.

China alone accounts for about one in four cancer cases and one in four cancer deaths worldwide, while Europe, with just 9.2 per cent of the global population, accounts for more than 20 per cent of global cancer incidence.

IARC said standardised cancer incidence rates vary as much as threefold between countries, while mortality rates can differ by up to fivefold.

The highest incidence rates were reported in countries such as Australia and Denmark, while some of the lowest were observed in parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

Mortality rates were highest in Eastern Europe and Melanesia, with individual countries recording particularly high burdens from specific cancers, including liver cancer in Mongolia and cervical cancer in Zimbabwe.

Bray said the differences reflected not only variations in the risk of developing cancer, but also inequalities 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.

The report also showed that lung cancer remains the leading cancer worldwide in both incidence and mortality. It is the major cause of cancer death in 89 countries, particularly among men.

Breast cancer remains one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers globally and, excluding 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 reflecting increased diagnostic testing.

IARC said cancer patterns were 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.

The agency warned that continued tobacco use, population ageing and persistent inequalities in cancer control could fuel further increases in cases and deaths.

While mortality has begun to decline in some high-income countries because of prevention, earlier detection and improved treatment, cancer incidence continues to rise in most settings.

Beyond the rising numbers, the new GLOBOCAN estimates exposed a major weakness in the global cancer response, inadequate data.

Only one in three countries currently reports high-quality cancer incidence data, while just one in four has reliable mortality data.

IARC said the gaps make it difficult for governments to accurately understand their cancer burden, plan services, allocate resources and assess whether interventions are working.

For the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), the latest estimates reinforce the urgent need for countries to strengthen national cancer control plans and invest in prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment.

The organisation said about half of cancer deaths are considered avoidable through proven measures, including tobacco control, vaccination, screening and equitable access to effective treatment.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation also released its Global Status Report on Cancer 2026, drawing on GLOBOCAN 2024 data to assess global progress against cancer.

The report found that progress remains uneven, with major gaps in access to prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

It also highlighted health-system constraints that continue to delay timely care in many countries, alongside persistent weaknesses in cancer data.

The WHO report further documented the financial hardship associated with cancer and the impact of late diagnosis on patients and families.

The latest projections underscore the scale of the challenge facing health systems worldwide.

Unless countries succeed in reducing cancer incidence and mortality rates, the number of people diagnosed with and dying from cancer will continue to rise dramatically over the next three decades.

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