Bray 2024: GLOBOCAN 2022, the world's cancer count for 36 cancers in 185 countries
The IARC estimate that about 20 million people were diagnosed with cancer in 2022 and 9.7 million died of it, with lung cancer the most common and most lethal, breast cancer second, and the total expected to rise by about three quarters by 2050 as populations grow and age.
Overview
GLOBOCAN 2022, produced by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, estimates new cases and deaths for 36 cancer types in 185 countries from national registries and modelling. It counted close to 20 million new cases (including non-melanoma skin cancer) and 9.7 million deaths in 2022. Lung cancer was the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death, followed by female breast cancer for incidence and colorectal cancer for both. About one in five people develop cancer in their lifetime. The report projects around 35 million new cases a year by 2050, an increase of roughly 77% driven mostly by demographic change, and it is the reference that country pages, prevalence charts and policy papers cite.
- Close to 20 million new cancer cases and 9.7 million cancer deaths worldwide in 2022.
- Lung cancer: about 2.5 million cases (12.4% of the total) and 1.8 million deaths (18.7%), the leading cause of cancer death.
- Female breast cancer second most common (about 2.3 million cases); colorectal cancer third for incidence and second for deaths.
- Roughly one in five people develop cancer in their lifetime; about one in nine men and one in twelve women die from it.
- Projection of about 35 million new cases in 2050, a 77% increase over 2022.
This is the number behind almost every statement about how much cancer there is. It shows the burden shifting towards low- and middle-income countries and towards older populations, which is why prevention, screening and affordable treatment in those settings decide the global trend. OnCo's country and prevalence pages draw on the same GLOBOCAN release.
- Many countries lack population-based registries, so estimates there rest on modelling from neighbours and mortality data.
- Non-melanoma skin cancer is counted inconsistently across registries and is often excluded from headline totals.
- Estimates are for 2022 and are revised as registries report.
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