ACS Report Focuses on Global Cancer Toll (American Cancer Society)

Cancer will claim 7.6 million lives worldwide this year, andmore than12 million people will receive cancer diagnoses, according to GlobalCancer Facts and Figures 2007,the newest edition to the American Cancer Society's family of Facts and Figuresreports.
The report, based on data compiled by the International Agencyfor Research on Cancer (IARC), reveals disparities in how canceraffects the developed and developing world. Infection plays a greaterrole in shaping cancer incidence in developing countries, where thenumber of infection-related cancers is 3 times higher than in developednations.
In developing countries, stomach, lung, and liver cancer were named asthe three mostcommonly diagnosed cancers among men, and cancers of the breast, cervix,and stomach showed up the mostfrequently among women. Infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), a typeof bacteria, is thought to be amajor cause of stomach cancer, whereasinfection by the humanpapillomavirus (HPV) is known to be a strongriskfactor for cervical cancer. Liver cancer is linkedto hepatitis Band C infections, both rampant in Africa and East Asia. In thedeveloped world, by contrast, the most commonly diagnosed cancers inmen are prostate, lung, and colorectal, while breast, colorectal, andlung cancer were the three most common in women.
Survival rates are lower in less developed parts of the world,reflecting a lack of prevention, early detection, and treatmentresources. For example, the IARC found that 5-year survival rates forchildren with cancer were around 75% in Europe and North America, butonly 48% to 62% in Central America.
Global Cancer Facts and Figures 2007 also includes data ongrowingtobacco use in developing countries, warning that if current patternscontinue, the number of smokers worldwide will reach 2 billion by 2030.In 2000, an estimated 5 million people died from diseases related tosmoking, and of these, about 1.42 million were from cancer.Approximately 84% of the nearly 1.3 billion smokers worldwide live indeveloping countries, says the World Health Organization.
There are other factors at play, too. 'The cancer burden is“increasing as people in the developing countries adopt westernlifestyles such as cigarette smoking, higher consumption of saturatedfat and calorie-dense foods, and reduced physical activity," saidAhmedin Jemal, PhD, American Cancer Society epidemiologist, andco-author of the report.
You can download a copy of Global Cancer Facts and Figures 2007 here.