# Ferlay 2019: GLOBOCAN 2018 sources and methods

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-ferlay-globocan-2018-methods-ijc-2019/  
OnCo record `paper-ferlay-globocan-2018-methods-ijc-2019` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The methods paper for the 2018 world cancer estimates, describing the registry and mortality data behind the figure of about 18.1 million new cases in 185 countries and how countries without good data were handled.

## Summary

Ferlay and colleagues documented the sources and methods for GLOBOCAN 2018, which estimated incidence and mortality for 36 cancers in 185 countries. They described the data available for each country, the methods applied according to data quality and coverage, and the summary results of about 18.1 million new cases and 9.6 million deaths in 2018. The paper accompanies the headline report by Bray and colleagues and is the reference for the quality of the national estimates.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Journal: International Journal of Cancer
- Year: 2019
- DOI: 10.1002/ijc.31937
- Authors: Ferlay J, Colombet M, Soerjomataram I, et al.
- Findings: About 18.1 million new cancer cases and 9.6 million cancer deaths in 2018 across 185 countries and 36 cancers.; Methods for each country were chosen according to the availability and quality of registry and vital statistics data.; A companion to the headline GLOBOCAN 2018 report.
- What it means: This paper is the place to check how solid a given country's GLOBOCAN 2018 figure is, which matters when the numbers are used to argue for national cancer plans.
- Caveats: Estimates for countries without population-based registries rely on modelling from neighbours.; Superseded by the 2020 and 2022 releases.

## Sources

- Full text (DOI): https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.31937
- IARC Global Cancer Observatory: https://gco.iarc.who.int/today

## Connected records

- key papers: [Bray 2018: GLOBOCAN 2018, worldwide incidence and mortality for 36 cancers](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-bray-globocan-2018-cacancer-2018/)
- institutions: [International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC / WHO)](https://onco.cc/institutions/iarc/)
- terms: [Incidence versus prevalence](https://onco.cc/terms/incidence-vs-prevalence/), [Mortality](https://onco.cc/terms/mortality/)
- technologies: [Cancer registries and population surveillance](https://onco.cc/technologies/cancer-registries-surveillance/)

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