UMEM Educational Pearls

Category: International EM

Title: Cancer Deaths Globally

Keywords: Cancer, mortality, burden of disease (PubMed Search)

Posted: 9/7/2016 by Jon Mark Hirshon, MD, MPH, PhD (Updated: 9/8/2016)
Click here to contact Jon Mark Hirshon, MD, MPH, PhD

Question

Bottom Line:

  • Cancers figure among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 14 million new cases and 8.2 million cancer related deaths in 2012.
  • The number of new cases is expected to rise by about 70% over the next 2 decades.
  • More than 30% of cancer deaths could be prevented by modifying or avoiding key risk factors

Answer

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 8.2 million deaths in 2012 (1). The most common causes of cancer death are cancers of:

  • lung (1.59 million deaths)
  • liver (745 000 deaths)
  • stomach (723 000 deaths)
  • colorectal (694 000 deaths)
  • breast (521 000 deaths)
  • oesophageal cancer (400 000 deaths) (1).

More than 30% of cancer deaths could be prevented by modifying or avoiding key risk factors, including:

  • tobacco use
  • being overweight or obese
  • unhealthy diet with low fruit and vegetable intake
  • lack of physical activity
  • alcohol use
  • sexually transmitted HPV-infection
  • infection by HBV
  • ionizing and non-ionizing radiation
  • urban air pollution
  • indoor smoke from household use of solid fuels.

References

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/