Freddie Bray

International Agency for Research on Cancer · Section of Cancer Surveillance

CANCER TODAY enables a comprehensive assessment of the cancer burden worldwide in 2022, based on the GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence, mortality and prevalence for year 2022 in 185 countries or territories for 36 cancer types by sex and age group. Available from: https://gco.iarc.who.int/today

Background The incidence of thyroid cancer has increased in different populations worldwide in the past 30 years. We present here an overview of international trends of thyroid cancer incidence by major histological subtypes. Methods We did a population-based study with data for thyroid cancer incidence collected by the International Agency for Re...

Objectives: Global descriptions of international patterns and trends in oral cancer are informative in providing insight into the shifting epidemiologic patterns and the potential prevention of these tumours. We present global statistics on these cancers using the comprehensive set of national estimates and recorded data collated at the Internatio...

The currently high cancer incidence rates in the U.S. and other high‐income countries have been strongly affected by the acquisition of environmental and lifestyle risk factors that accompanied socioeconomic growth in the second half of the last century. The very same factors are now operating in many low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMIC) undergo...

Background: Cancer is a major cause of premature illness and death in France. To quantify how cancer prevention could reduce the burden, we present estimates of the contribution of lifestyle and environmental risk factors to cancer incidence in France in 2015, comparing these with other high-income countries. Method: Prevalences of, and relative...

Background Exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and the use of UV‐emitting tanning devices are associated with cutaneous malignant melanoma occurrence. Objective The aim of this study was to quantify the proportion and number of melanoma cases attributable to solar UVR exposure and sunbed use in France in 2015. Methods Population attribu...

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains the predominant histological subtype of esophageal cancer (EC) in many transitioning countries, with an enigmatic and geographically distinct etiology, and consistently elevated incidence rates in many Eastern and Southern African countries. To gain epidemiological insights into ESCC patterns across...

The Global Initiative for Cancer Registry Development partnership, led by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), was established in response to an overwhelming need for high-quality cancer incidence data from low-income and middle-income countries. The IARC Regional Hub for cancer registration in North Africa, Central and West Asia...

It is estimated that there are 370 million indigenous peoples in 90 countries globally. Indigenous peoples generally face substantial disadvantage and poorer health status compared with nonindigenous peoples. Population-level cancer surveillance provides data to set priorities, inform policies, and monitor progress over time. Measuring the cancer b...

Rapid changes in social and economic development have led to cancer becoming a major cause of national morbidity and mortality in Thailand. Cancer registries have been critical in documenting subnational cancer patterns and transitions in the country; with the establishment of six registries in northern Thailand, a comprehensive assessment of the s...

Background: Cancers of the corpus uteri-primarily of the endometrium-rank as the sixth most common neoplasm in women worldwide. Analyses of the global patterns and trends of uterine cancer rates are needed in view of the ongoing obesity epidemic, a major risk factor for the disease. Methods: Data on endometrial cancer (ICD-10 C54) incidence from...

Peru, like several other South American countries, is experiencing remarkable population growth, ageing, and urbanisation, which has given rise to profound changes in its epidemiological profile. Prostate and breast cancer are the most frequent cancers in men and women, respectively, in Lima and Arequipa, the two areas with population-based cancer...

Primary liver cancer (PLC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and the second most common cause of cancer death. Future predictions can inform health planners and raise awareness of the need for cancer control action. We predicted the future burden of PLC in 30 countries around 2030. Incident cases of PLC (International Classification of Dise...

Background & aims: Gallbladder cancer has a low rate of survival, a unique geographic distribution, and is associated with lifestyle factors that have changed in recent decades. Little is known about the extent to which behavioral patterns have affected global trends in gallbladder cancer. We investigated recent mortality patterns and trends world...

Measurement of incidence rates of childhood cancer in Africa is difficult. The study ‘Cancer of Childhood in sub Saharan Africa’ brings together results from 16 population-based registries which, as members of the African Cancer Registry Network (AFCRN), have been evaluated as achieving adequate coverage of their target population. The cancers are...

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality can be reduced through risk factor modification (adherence to lifestyle recommendations), screening, and improved treatment. This study estimated the potential of these three strategies to modify CRC mortality rates in Norway. Methods: The potential reduction in CRC mortality due to risk factor modif...

Objectives: Rapid increases in the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) in high-income countries in the past decades have raised public health concerns. This study is the first to predict the future burden of esophageal cancer by histological subtype using international incidence data. Methods: Data on esophageal cancer incidence by year...

Background Macroeconomic indicators are likely associated with prostate cancer (PCa) incidence and mortality globally, but have rarely been assessed. Methods Data on PCa incidence in 2003–2007 for 49 countries with either nationwide cancer registry or at least two regional registries were obtained from Cancer Incidence in Five Continents Vol X and...

The increasing rates of kidney cancer incidence, reported in many populations globally, have been attributed both to increasing exposures to environmental risk factors, as well as increasing levels of incidental diagnosis due to widespread use of imaging. To better understand these trends, we examine long-term cancer registry data worldwide, focusi...

The growing burden of cancer among several major noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) requires national implementation of tailored public health surveillance. For many emerging economies where emphasis has traditionally been placed on the surveillance of communicable diseases, it is critical to understand the specificities of NCD surveillance and, withi...

Background: Many countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region (EMR) are undergoing marked demographic and socioeconomic transitions that are increasing the cancer burden in region. We sought to examine the national cancer incidence and mortality profiles as a support to regional cancer control planning in the EMR. Methods: GLOBOCAN 2012 data we...

Background Cancer is a major cause of death in children worldwide, and the recorded incidence tends to increase with time. Internationally comparable data on childhood cancer incidence in the past two decades are scarce. This study aimed to provide internationally comparable local data on the incidence of childhood cancer to promote research of cau...

Background Cancer is a major cause of death in children worldwide, and the recorded incidence tends to increase with time. Internationally comparable data on childhood cancer incidence in the past two decades are scarce. This study aimed to provide internationally comparable local data on the incidence of childhood cancer to promote research of cau...

Internationally, ovarian cancer is the 7(th) leading cancer diagnosis and 8(th) leading cause of cancer mortality among women. Ovarian cancer incidence varies by region, particularly when comparing high versus low income countries. Temporal changes in reproductive factors coupled with shifts in diagnostic criteria may have influenced incidence tren...

Colorectal cancer incidence has paralleled increases in human development across most countries. Yet, marked decreases in incidence are now observed in countries that have attained very high human development. Thus, in this study, we explored the relationship between human development and colorectal cancer incidence, and in particular assessed whet...

Overview Cancer, once seen as a problem only of high‐income countries, is now a leading global cause of death responsible for one in three premature deaths from non‐communicable diseases. The global trend is set to continue over the next decades through population and lifestyle changes, part of an ongoing demographic and epidemiologic transition th...

Cancer incidence by type has been included as a core indicator in the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Monitoring Framework for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases. The Global Initiative for Cancer Registry Development (GICR), coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), supports low- and middle-in...

The global burden of cancer is expected to increase from 14.1 million newly diagnosed cases and 8.2 million cancer deaths in 2012 to 22 million cases and 13 million deaths in 2030. This increase, based on projected population aging and growth, will disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where large numbers of young adul...

More than half of all cancer diagnoses worldwide occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and the incidence is projected to rise substantially within the next 20 years. Radiotherapy is a vital, cost-effective treatment for cancer; yet there is currently a huge deficit in radiotherapy services within these countries. The aim of this study w...

Every year, more than 2 million women worldwide are diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer, yet where a woman lives, her socioeconomic status, and agency largely determines whether she will develop one of these cancers and will ultimately survive. In regions with scarce resources, fragile or fragmented health systems, cancer contributes to the cy...

Every year, more than 2 million women worldwide are diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer, yet where a woman lives, her socioeconomic status, and agency largely determines whether she will develop one of these cancers and will ultimately survive. In regions with scarce resources, fragile or fragmented health systems, cancer contributes to the cy...

Background Previous studies have reported rapid increases in anal cancer incidence rates in seven high-income countries in North America, Europe and Oceania. There is very limited information on whether this pattern is replicated in other parts of the world. In this study, we examine recent trends in anal cancer incidence in 18 countries worldwide....

Mongolia has a high burden from noncommunicable diseases, with cancer now the second leading cause of mortality. Given the paucity of situation analyses from the country, this study reports cancer data based on new cases 2008-12 from the National Cancer Registry of Mongolia covering the entire population (2.87 million). 21 564 new cancer cases were...

An estimated 8.2. million people died from cancer in the year 2012 worldwide. The proportion of deaths attributed to cancer varies considerably between and within the world regions, with rates tending to be more elevated in more developed areas of the world, although mortality rates of several cancer forms are high in many low- or middle-income eco...

By using data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer publication Cancer Incidence in 5 Continents and GLOBOCAN, this report provides the first consolidated global estimation of the subsite distribution of new cases of lip, oral cavity, and pharyngeal cancers by country, sex, and age for the year 2012. Major geographically based, sex-b...

Background: The key aims of this study were to identify sources of support for cancer registry activities, to quantify resource use and estimate costs to operate registries in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) at different stages of development across three continents. Methods: Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's)...

Recent studies have shown that cancer risk related to overweight and obesity is mediated by time and might be better approximated by using life years lived with excess weight. In this study we aimed to assess the impact of overweight duration and intensity in older adults on the risk of developing different forms of cancer. Study participants from...

Background Cancers of the brain and CNS constitute a group of rare and heterogeneous tumors. Increasing incidence in Western populations has been linked to improvements in diagnostic technology, although interpretation is hampered by changes in diagnosis and reporting. The present study examines geographic and temporal variations in incidence rates...

Introduction: Pancreatic cancer currently ranks below female breast cancer in terms of the number of deaths in both males and females in the EU. While breast cancer mortality rates have been declining in many higher income EU countries during recent decades, rates of pancreatic cancer in contrast are either stable or moderately increasing; a compa...

Background: Cervical cancer incidence remains high in several Baltic, central, and eastern European (BCEE) countries, mainly as a result of a historical absence of effective screening programmes. As a catalyst for action, we aimed to estimate the number of women who could be spared from cervical cancer across six countries in the region during the...

Dramatic increases have been seen over recent decades in the reported incidence of thyroid cancer, but owing to new modes of screening, hundreds of thousands of cases may be overdiagnoses - diagnosis of tumors that would not, if left alone, result in symptoms or death.

Purpose: Inequalities in the burden of cancer have been well documented, and a variety of measures exist to analyse disease disparities. While previous studies have focused on inequalities within countries, the aim of the present study was to quantify existing inequalities in cancer incidence and mortality between countries. Methods: Data on tot...

The proportions of new cancer cases and deaths that are caused by exposure to risk factors and that could be prevented are key statistics for public health policy and planning. This paper summarizes the methodologies for estimating, challenges in the analysis of, and utility of, population attributable and preventable fractions for cancers caused b...

It is important that population-based cancer registries provide accurate and reliable data for public health purposes. These data are essential data for planning of cancer control and prevention. In this study, we examined cancer incidence rates (year 2005-2010) in four MECC registries (Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, Izmir (Turkey)) and compared with the...

Socioeconomic factors are associated with cancer incidence through complex and variable pathways. We assessed cancer incidence for all cancers combined and 27 major types according to national human development levels. Using GLOBOCAN data for 184 countries, age-standardized incidence rates (ASRs) were assessed by four levels (low, medium, high, ver...

Background: Since 2006, many countries have implemented publicly funded human papillomavirus (HPV) immunisation programmes. However, global estimates of the extent and impact of vaccine coverage are still unavailable. We aimed to quantify worldwide cumulative coverage of publicly funded HPV immunisation programmes up to 2014, and the potential impa...

Background: Infections with certain viruses, bacteria, and parasites are strong risk factors for specific cancers. As new cancer statistics and epidemiological findings have accumulated in the past 5 years, we aimed to assess the causal involvement of the main carcinogenic agents in different cancer types for the year 2012. Methods: We considered t...

Tobacco smoking is responsible for various types of cancer. • In 2000, 18% of cancer cases and 24% cancer deaths in France can be attributed to tobacco smoking. • In 2000, exposure to secondhand smoking at home and at work place were respectively responsible for 8.4% and 7.6% of lung cancer deaths among non-smokers in France. • The prevalence of to...

Context: Bladder cancer has become a common cancer globally, with an estimated 430 000 new cases diagnosed in 2012. Objective: We examine the most recent global bladder cancer incidence and mortality patterns and trends, the current understanding of the aetiology of the disease, and specific issues that may influence the registration and reporti...

Primary liver cancer, the most common histologic types of which are hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), is the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide. While rising incidence of liver cancer in low-risk areas and decreasing incidence in some high-risk areas has been reported, trends have not been thoroug...

In view of the growing global obesity epidemic, this paper reviews the relation between recent trends in body mass index (BMI) and the changing profile of cancer worldwide. By examining seven selected countries, each representing a world region, a pattern of increasing BMI with region and gender-specific diversity is noted: increasing levels of BMI...

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant disease with limited therapeutic options due to its aggressive progression. It places heavy burden on most low and middle income countries to treat HCC patients. Nowadays accurate HCC risk predictions can help making decisions on the need for HCC surveillance and antiviral therapy. HCC risk prediction m...

Objective: To develop a situation analysis encompassing the patterns and trends in cancer incidence and mortality in South and Central America and the Caribbean, with comparisons globally and with selected external countries. Materials and methods: Data on cancer incidence and mortality rates for 31 countries were obtained from the 2012 GLOBOCAN...

Purpose The global incidence of cancer is rising, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Radiotherapy is an important cancer treatment in the curative and palliative setting. We aimed to estimate the global demand for and supply of radiotherapy megavoltage machines (MVMs) and assess the changes in supply and demand during the past decade...

Objective To assess the validity of the GLOBOCAN methods for deriving national estimates of cancer incidence. Methods We obtained incidence and mortality data from Norway by region, year of diagnosis, cancer site, sex and 5-year age group for the period 1983–2012 from the NORDCAN database. Estimates for the year 2010 were derived using nine differ...

Background: The objective of this HERO study was to assess the number of new cancer patients that will require at least one course of radiotherapy by 2025. Methods: European cancer incidence data by tumor site and country for 2012 and 2025 was extracted from the GLOBOCAN database. The projection of the number of new cases took into account demog...

Objective: The global burden of colorectal cancer (CRC) is expected to increase by 60% to more than 2.2 million new cases and 1.1 million deaths by 2030. In this study, we aim to describe the recent CRC incidence and mortality patterns and trends linking the findings to the prospects of reducing the burden through cancer prevention and care. Desi...

With increasing incidence and mortality, cancer is the leading cause of death in China and is a major public health problem. Because of China's massive population (1.37 billion), previous national incidence and mortality estimates have been limited to small samples of the population using data from the 1990s or based on a specific year. With high-q...

Cancer survival varies by place of residence, but it remains uncertain whether this reflects differences in tumour-, patient- and treatment characteristics (including tumour stage, indicators of socioeconomic status (SES), comorbidity and information on received surgery and radiotherapy) or possibly regional differences in the quality of delivered...

Today, cancer is responsible for one in three premature deaths from noncommunicable diseases worldwide, and the number of annual cancer diagnoses will rise to well over 20 million by the year 2030. That cancer is of profound importance to future global health reflects both recent gains in human development as well as mortality transitions that are...

The global figure of 14 million new cancer cases in 2012 is projected to rise to almost 22 million by 2030, with the burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) shifting from 59% to 65% of all cancer cases worldwide over this time. While the overheads of cancer care are set to rapidly increase in all countries worldwide irrespective of incom...

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a carcinogen for the following human sites: cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, anus and oropharynx. Approximately 4.8 % of the global cancer incidence (in 2008) was attributable to HPV infections, although substantial differences were found by geographical region. The large majority (85 %) of the cancers attribute...

Cancer burden worldwide is projected to rise from 14 million new cases in 2012 to 24 million in 2035. While the greatest increases will be in developing countries, where cancer services are already hard pressed, even the richest nations will struggle to meet demands of increasing patient numbers and spiralling treatment costs. No country can treat...

Investments in cancer control—prevention, detection, diagnosis, surgery, other treatment, and palliative care—are increasingly needed in low-income and particularly in middle-income countries, where most of the world's cancer deaths occur without treatment or palliation. To help countries expand locally appropriate services, Cancer (the third volum...

Background: The temporal relationship between hepatitis B virus (HBV) mutations and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis including cohort and nested case-control studies to prospectively examine the HCC risk associated with common variants of HBV in the PreS, Enhancer II, basal core promoter (BCP)...

A low within-country variability and a large between-country variability in cancer incidence may indicate that ecologic factors are involved in the etiology of the disease. The aim of this study is to explore the within- and between-country variability of cancer incidence to motivate high-quality ecologic studies. We extracted age-standardized inci...

Prostate cancer is a significant public health burden and a major cause of morbidity and mortality among men worldwide. Analyzing geographic patterns and temporal trends may help identify high-risk populations, suggest the degree of PSA testing, and provide clues to etiology. We used incidence data available from the International Agency for Resear...

Introduction: Indigenous people have disproportionally worse health and lower life expectancy than their non-indigenous counterparts in high-income countries. Cancer data for indigenous people are scarce and incidence has not previously been collectively reported in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the USA. We aimed to investigate and compare,...