Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer - The Most Common Cause Of Cancer Deaths

Online, June 1, 2010 (Newswire.com) - A new report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) states that the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide in 2008 was lung cancer (including mesothelioma) with 1.61 million cases diagnosed. Lung cancer was also the leading cause of cancer death, resulting in 1.38 million deaths in 2008.

Breast cancer came in second with 1.38 million diagnoses, with colorectal cancers third, at 1.23 million diagnoses. However these diagnoses did not result in matching death rates as stomach cancer came in second in cancer deaths resulting in 740,000 deaths, while liver cancers resulted in 690,000 deaths and came in third place. This may give some indication of successful cancer treatments employed in breast and colorectal cancers.

There were an estimated 12.7 million new cases of cancer diagnosed in 2008 while 7.6 million people died of cancer. 2008 is the latest year for which figures are available.
Asbestos exposure and asbestos cancer are included in the lung cancer deaths, comprising 18.2% of the total cancer deaths.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) projects that almost 21.4 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed annually by 2030.

The IARC said the burden of cancer was shifting from wealthier to poorer nations. "Cancer is neither rare anywhere in the world, nor confined to high-resource countries," the IARC said in a statement. While approximately 56 percent of new cancer cases worldwide in 2008 were in developing countries, these countries accounted for 63 percent of all cancer deaths. IARC director Christopher Wild said this data would help international health policy makers develop responses.

The projection for annual death rates of 13.2 million and diagnosis of 21.4 million were based on assumptions that underlying rates of cancer would remain the same over the next two decades. Only time will tell if these assumptions are proven correct.