The World Health Organization (WHO) expects that by the year 2050, the number of new cancer cases diagnosed worldwide will increase by 77 percent compared to today's figures.
Over the next three decades, a new WHO report warns, tens of millions of people will be diagnosed with cancer for the first time. In 2050, more than 35 million new cancer cases are predicted to manifest, this compared to 20 million new cases in 2022.
"The rapidly growing global cancer burden reflects both population aging and growth, as well as changes to people's exposure to risk factors, several of which are associated with socioeconomic development," the report, published by the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), states.
"Tobacco, alcohol and obesity are key factors behind the increasing incidence of cancer, with air pollution still a key driver of environmental risk factors."
In 2022, IARC predicted that 9.7 million people would die from cancer. One in five people, the group further estimates, will develop cancer at some point in their life, and one in nine men, and one in 12 women, will die from it.
America breaks new cancer record
Roughly two-thirds of new cancers and deaths reported in 2022 stemmed from 10 types of cancer, the most prominent being lung cancer, followed by breast cancer in females, colorectal cancer in both sexes, prostate cancer in males and stomach cancer in general.
"Lung cancer's re-emergence as the most common cancer is likely related to persistent tobacco use in Asia," the report states.
Twenty percent of lung cancer patients end up dying, making it the deadliest form of cancer worldwide. In second place is colorectal cancer, followed by liver cancer in third, breast in fourth and stomach in fifth. In women, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed and deadliest type of cancer.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) also put out a report recently warning that cancer rates specifically in the United States are breaking new records. For the first time, ACS says, the number of new cancer cases in the U.S. will exceed two million.
"This is the equivalent to roughly 5,500 new cancer diagnoses a day," writes The Epoch Times' Naveen Athrappully.
In its report, the ACS noted that primarily elderly people are developing cancer, adding that the cancer rate increase is also a factor of more diagnoses. The top six most common cancers in the U.S. are breast, prostate, endometrial, pancreatic, kidney and melanoma, followed by lung, colon and rectum, bladder and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
"In 2024, over 611,000 deaths from cancer are projected for the United States," the ACS says. "That's more than 1,600 deaths from cancer each day."
While some types of cancers are seeing a decrease in diagnoses, their incidence is rising considerably in certain subgroups. A few examples include:
• Colorectal cancer in people under the age of 35
• Oral cancer in people diagnosed with HPV (human papillomavirus)
• Liver cancer in women
• Cervical cancer in women between the ages of 30 and 44
According to Dr. Yuhong Dong, an infectious disease specialist, increases in cervical and oral cancers are due to increased sexual activity.
"In recent decades, there is an emerging trend that people tend to be engaged in sexual activity at a young age and have multiple sexual partners, which can increase the likelihood of HPV infection," Dong said.
"It is well-recognized that HPV is a carcinogenic virus. The role of HPV in causing cancer is primarily due to its cancer-inducing proteins. These proteins break down the body's tumor-fighting mechanisms, leading to rapid and uncontrolled cell multiplication."
