Sung 2021: GLOBOCAN 2020, the year breast cancer overtook lung cancer as the most diagnosed cancer
The IARC count for 2020: about 19.3 million new cancer cases worldwide, with female breast cancer overtaking lung cancer as the most commonly diagnosed cancer for the first time, and a projected rise to about 28 million cases a year by 2040.
Overview
GLOBOCAN 2020, from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, estimated incidence and mortality for 36 cancers in 185 countries. It counted an estimated 19.3 million new cases (18.1 million excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) in 2020. Female breast cancer became the most commonly diagnosed cancer, ahead of lung, colorectal, prostate and stomach cancers, while lung cancer remained the leading cause of cancer death. The authors projected 28.4 million cases in 2040, a 47% rise on 2020 driven by population growth and ageing, with the largest relative increases in countries undergoing economic transition.
- About 19.3 million new cancer cases and almost 10 million cancer deaths worldwide in 2020.
- Female breast cancer the most commonly diagnosed cancer (about 2.3 million cases, 11.7% of the total), overtaking lung cancer.
- Lung cancer the leading cause of cancer death (about 1.8 million deaths, 18% of the total), followed by colorectal, liver, stomach and female breast cancers.
- Projected 28.4 million cases in 2040, a 47% increase from 2020.
This report marked the shift of the global cancer burden towards breast cancer and towards lower-income countries, and it is the baseline most 2020s policy documents cite. The GLOBOCAN 2022 release has since updated the totals.
- Estimates for 2020 were made before the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on diagnoses could be measured.
- Many countries lack population-based registries, so their figures rest on modelling.
This was the most cited description of the global cancer burden until the 2020 release and is the reference behind many national cancer plans of the late 2010s. Its country-level comparisons showed where prevention, such as HPV and hepatitis B vaccination and tobacco control, would have the largest effect.
GBD is the other major global cancer count alongside GLOBOCAN, using different methods, and its burden measures in years of life lost make the case that cancer control is largely a problem of ageing populations in middle-income countries.
Similar pages
not linked directly; found by shared links- Key paperTorre 2015: Global cancer statistics, 2012
Shares Freddie Bray, Incidence versus prevalence, Bray 2018: GLOBOCAN 2018, worldwide incidence and mortality for 36 cancers, Mortality.
- Key paperSiegel 2024: Cancer statistics, 2024, the American Cancer Society's annual US report
Shares Bray 2024: GLOBOCAN 2022, the world's cancer count for 36 cancers in 185 countries, Incidence versus prevalence, Mortality, Colorectal cancer.
- Key paperChen 2016: Cancer statistics in China, 2015
Shares Incidence versus prevalence, Bray 2018: GLOBOCAN 2018, worldwide incidence and mortality for 36 cancers, Mortality, Colorectal cancer.
- Key paperAllemani 2018: CONCORD-3, global surveillance of cancer survival 2000 to 2014
Shares Bray 2018: GLOBOCAN 2018, worldwide incidence and mortality for 36 cancers, Mortality, Colorectal cancer, HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer.
- Key paperCalle 2003: overweight, obesity and death from cancer in 900,000 US adults
Shares Mortality, Colorectal cancer.
- TermPrognosis
Shares Incidence versus prevalence, Mortality.
- InstitutionCancer Institute of Iran, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex
Shares International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC / WHO), Colorectal cancer, HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer.
- TermAlcohol-attributable cancer
Shares International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC / WHO), Colorectal cancer, HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer.