Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 May-Jun;74(3):229-263.
doi: 10.3322/caac.21834. Epub 2024 Apr 4.

Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries

Affiliations
Free article

Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries

Freddie Bray et al. CA Cancer J Clin. 2024 May-Jun.
Free article

Abstract

This article presents global cancer statistics by world region for the year 2022 based on updated estimates from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). There were close to 20 million new cases of cancer in the year 2022 (including nonmelanoma skin cancers [NMSCs]) alongside 9.7 million deaths from cancer (including NMSC). The estimates suggest that approximately one in five men or women develop cancer in a lifetime, whereas around one in nine men and one in 12 women die from it. Lung cancer was the most frequently diagnosed cancer in 2022, responsible for almost 2.5 million new cases, or one in eight cancers worldwide (12.4% of all cancers globally), followed by cancers of the female breast (11.6%), colorectum (9.6%), prostate (7.3%), and stomach (4.9%). Lung cancer was also the leading cause of cancer death, with an estimated 1.8 million deaths (18.7%), followed by colorectal (9.3%), liver (7.8%), female breast (6.9%), and stomach (6.8%) cancers. Breast cancer and lung cancer were the most frequent cancers in women and men, respectively (both cases and deaths). Incidence rates (including NMSC) varied from four-fold to five-fold across world regions, from over 500 in Australia/New Zealand (507.9 per 100,000) to under 100 in Western Africa (97.1 per 100,000) among men, and from over 400 in Australia/New Zealand (410.5 per 100,000) to close to 100 in South-Central Asia (103.3 per 100,000) among women. The authors examine the geographic variability across 20 world regions for the 10 leading cancer types, discussing recent trends, the underlying determinants, and the prospects for global cancer prevention and control. With demographics-based predictions indicating that the number of new cases of cancer will reach 35 million by 2050, investments in prevention, including the targeting of key risk factors for cancer (including smoking, overweight and obesity, and infection), could avert millions of future cancer diagnoses and save many lives worldwide, bringing huge economic as well as societal dividends to countries over the forthcoming decades.

Keywords: cancer burden; cancer control; epidemiology; incidence; mortality.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

References

REFERENCES

    1. Bray F, Laversanne M, Weiderpass E, Soerjomataram I. The ever‐increasing importance of cancer as a leading cause of premature death worldwide. Cancer. 2021;127(16):3029‐3030. doi:10.1002/cncr.33587
    1. Chen S, Cao Z, Prettner K, et al. Estimates and projections of the global economic cost of 29 cancers in 204 countries and territories from 2020 to 2050. JAMA Oncol. 2023;9(4):465‐472. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2022.7826
    1. Guida F, Kidman R, Ferlay J, et al. Global and regional estimates of orphans attributed to maternal cancer mortality in 2020. Nat Med. 2022;28(12):2563‐2572. doi:10.1038/s41591‐022‐02109‐2
    1. Ferlay J, Ervik M, Lam F, et al. eds, Global Cancer Observatory: Cancer Today (Version 1.0). International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2024. Accessed February 1, 2024. https://gco.iarc.who.int/today
    1. Parkin DM, Bray F, Ferlay J, Pisani P. Global cancer statistics, 2002. CA Cancer J Clin. 2005;55(2):74‐108. doi:10.3322/canjclin.55.2.74

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources