Lung cancer remains the most prevalent form of cancer worldwide in terms of incidence and mortality, with overall trends in cancer mortality being influenced by a country's ranking in the Human Development Index (HDI), a new International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) report on Tuesday stated
PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th February, 2020) Lung cancer remains the most prevalent form of cancer worldwide in terms of incidence and mortality, with overall trends in cancer mortality being influenced by a country's ranking in the Human Development Index (HDI), a new International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) report on Tuesday stated.
According to IARC, 2.1 million new cases of lung cancer were reported in 2018, while the disease was also responsible for 1.8 million deaths in the same year, the most of any form of cancer. Tobacco smoking is responsible for 63 percent of global deaths from lung cancer, IARC stated.
Breast cancer remains the most prevalent form of cancer among women in terms of incidence and mortality, and 627,000 women died from the disease in 2018. According to IARC, rising rates of breast cancer in higher-income countries are the result of younger age at menarche, increasing maternal age and lower numbers of pregnancies.
IARC also noted that there are significant discrepancies in breast cancer mortality rates between low- and high-income countries.
"In many countries with high levels of the Human Development Index (HDI), incidence rates have stabilized and mortality rates are declining, whereas in countries in transition towards higher HDI levels, mortality trends have tended to parallel the increasing incidence trends," the report stated.
Similar trends are observed in colorectal cancer rates, as mortality has decreased in high-income countries, but the number of deaths is increasing considerably in low- and middle-income countries.
In a joint press release accompanying the IARC report, the World Health Organization (WHO) called for an improvement in cancer services in low- and middle-income countries. According to WHO, 90 percent of high-income countries have comprehensive cancer treatment services available in the public health system, compared to less than 15 percent of low-income countries.
World Cancer Day, an initiative launched by IARC, takes place on February 4. Its goals are to raise awareness of cancer as one of the most prominent diseases affecting humanity and to draw public attention to the need to help improve screening and treatment methods across the globe.
