Cancer Incidence Worldwide

• In 2018, cancer caused roughly 9.5 million deaths worldwide
• Cancer deaths are projected to reach 13.2 million worldwide by 2030
• Environmental factors play a larger role in cancer than genetics
• Geographic factors are more important than racial factors

Geographic & Racial Factors

• Stomach cancer is more prevalent in Japan
• Breast cancer is more prevalent in the United States
• Hepatoma is more prevalent in Asia
• Prostate cancer is more prevalent in African Americans

Worldwide Cancer Incidence

• Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the Americas, Europe, Australia, and most of Africa
• Lung and bronchus cancer is the most common cancer in men in Asia and Northern Africa
• The United States, Europe, and Australia have more than three times the incidence of breast cancer compared with the southern half of Africa, India, and Mongolia
• High-income countries have a higher incidence of breast cancer

Infectious Agents & Cancer

• 15% of cancers worldwide are caused directly or indirectly by infectious agents
• Cancer being linked to infections is roughly three times higher in the developing world than in the developed world
• Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main cause of cervical carcinomas

Environmental Factors & Cancer Risks

• Smoking is the most important environmental factor contributing to premature death
• Smoking is implicated in 90% of lung cancers
• Smoking can contribute to cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, pancreas, and bladder
• Alcohol abuse increases the risk of carcinoma of the oropharynx, larynx, and esophagus
• Alcohol abuse increases the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma
• Alcohol and tobacco use together increases the risk of cancers in the upper airways and digestive tract
• Differences in diet have been attributed to geographic variation in cancer incidence, especially for colorectal, breast, and prostate carcinoma
• Obese individuals in the US have a higher death rate from cancer than non-obese people
• Long-term use of oral contraceptives like estrogen increases the cancer risk in tissues susceptible, like the breast and endometrium
• Some of the geographic variation of breast cancer incidents might be due to social, cultural, and economic factors that influence the number and timing of pregnancies
• Population age varies among different countries and geographic zones

Cancer By Age & Gender

• Cancer is the leading cause of death among women aged 40 to 79 and men aged 60 to 79
• Carcinomas are the most common general type of tumor in adults
• In children under 15, cancer is the second cause of death after accidents
• Pediatric cancers are most likely caused by inherited mutations of tumor suppressor genes, leading to acute leukemia
• Pediatric cancers include acute lymphoblastic leukemia, neoplasms of the central nervous systems, neuroblastoma, retinoblastoma, Wilms tumor, and rhabdomyosarcoma
• Females are more likely to develop cancer than males
• The most common cancer in females is breast cancer, followed by lung and bronchus, and colon and rectum
• In males, prostate cancer is the most common, with the rest similar in terms of death caused by cancer
• Lung and bronchus cancers are the deadliest for both females and males