For the first time, female breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer, overtaking lung cancer, the American Cancer Society announced on World Cancer Day.
According to Global Cancer Statistics 2020, a collaborative report from ACS and the International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1 in 5 men and women worldwide develop the disease during their lifetime, and 1 in 8 men and 1 in 11 women die from it.
According to the report, an estimated 19.3 million new cancer cases and almost 10 million deaths occurred in 2020. Female breast cancer was the most commonly diagnosed cancer, with an estimated 2.3 million new cases (11.7%), followed by lung (11.4%), colorectal (10.0%), prostate (7.3%) and stomach (5.6%) cancers.
“Dramatic changes in lifestyle and built environment have had an impact on the prevalence of breast cancer risk factors such as excess body weight, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption, postponement of childbearing, fewer childbirths, and less breastfeeding,” the authors wrote in the report, which was published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
“The increasing prevalence of these factors associated with social and economic transition results in a convergence toward the risk factor profile of transitioned countries and is narrowing international gaps in the breast cancer morbidity,” they added.
In its announcement Thursday, the ACS noted the incidence of breast cancer is increasing in countries where rates historically have been low.
In addition, death rates of breast cancer among women in transitioning countries were even higher compared with the rates among women in transitioned countries (15 and 12.8 per 100,000, respectively), despite the substantially lower incidence rates (29.7 and 55.9 per 100,000, respectively).
Despite being the most commonly diagnosed, breast cancer is not the deadliest. Lung cancer remained the leading cause of cancer death, with an estimated 1.8 million deaths (18%). It was followed by colorectal (9.4%), liver (8.3%), stomach (7.7%) and female breast (6.9%) cancers.
The authors estimate there will be 28.4 million new cancer cases in 2040, a 47% rise from 2020 globally. Transitioning countries are experiencing a larger relative increase in cancer incidence (64% to 95%) versus transitioned (32% to 56%) countries because of demographic changes.
The authors note this report is before the coronavirus pandemic began, so effects of COVID-19 are not included. They wrote they anticipate a short-term decline in cases because people will delay screenings during the pandemic, followed by a rise in advanced stage diagnoses.
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