PARIS: Cancer will kill 5.5 million women — about the population of Denmark — per year by 2030, a near 60-per cent increase in less than two decades, a report said Tuesday. As the global population grows and ages, the highest toll will be among women in poor and middle-income countries, it said, and much of it from cancers which are largely preventable.
“Most of the deaths occur in young- and middle-aged adults,”, placing a heavy burden on families and national economies, said Sally Cowal, senior vice president of global health at the American Cancer Society, which compiled the report with pharmaceutical company Merck. Cancer is already killing one in seven women around the world, said the report — the second highest cause of death after cardiovascular disease. All four of the deadliest cancers — breast, colorectal, lung and cervical cancer — are mostly preventable or can be detected early, when treatment is more successful.
In poorer countries, a much smaller proportion of cancer cases are diagnosed and treated than in rich ones, while a much bigger group dies. The relative burden is growing for developing countries as people live longer due to better basic healthcare.
In poorer countries, a much smaller proportion of cancer cases are diagnosed and treated than in rich ones, while a much bigger group dies. The relative burden is growing for developing countries as people live longer due to better basic healthcare.
Women in these countries are also increasingly exposed to known cancer risk factors “associated with rapid economic transition,” said Cowal, “such as physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, obesity, and reproductive factors” such as postponing motherhood. “Due to these changes, cancers that were once common only in high-income countries are becoming more prevalent,” said the report entitled “The Global Burden of Cancer in Women.” — AFP
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