Cancer deaths rose to 10 mn worldwide in 2019: Study

New York: Cancer deaths rose to 10 million and new cases jumped to over 23 million globally in 2019, says a new study.

The study indicated that at the start of the decade in 2010, total cancer deaths numbered 8.29 million worldwide and new cancer cases were at 18.7 million; the counts by the end of the decade in 2019 represent increases of 20.9 per cent and 26.3 per cent, respectively.

"Ensuring that global progress against cancer burden is equitable is crucial," said researcher Jonathan Kocarnik from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

"This will require efforts to reduce disparities in cancer prevention, treatment and survival, and the incorporation of local needs and knowledge into tailored national cancer control plans," he added.

For the study, published in the journal JAMA Oncology, the researchers estimated cancer burden and trends globally for 204 countries and territories.

They found that cancer was second behind only cardiovascular diseases in the number of deaths, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and years of life lost (YLLs) among 22 groups of diseases and injuries globally in 2019.

Within the total cancer burden, the five leading causes of cancer-related DALYs for both sexes combined were tracheal, bronchus, and lung (TBL) cancer; colon and rectum cancer; stomach cancer; breast cancer; and liver cancer. TBL cancer was the leading cause of cancer deaths in 119 countries and territories for males and 27 countries and territories for females.

Although the absolute burden of cancer increased in both deaths and new cases from 2010 to 2019, the global age-standardised mortality and incidence rates decreased by 5.9 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively.

From a country perspective, the age-standardised mortality rate decreased in 131 countries and territories and the age-standardized incidence rate lessened in 75 countries and territories.

The small percentage declines globally are promising, but the researchers caution that there may be setbacks in cancer care and outcomes due to Covid-19. The effects of the pandemic on cancer morbidity, mortality, and prevention and control efforts were not accounted for in this GBD study, which analyzed global cancer burden through 2019.