The American Cancer Society has just released Global Cancer Facts and Figures 2007. The report states that cancer will claim 7.6 million lives this year and that more than 12 million people will be diagnosed as having cancer.

The report uses data that was complied by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and reveals that there are disparities in how cancer affects people living in the developed world as compared to the developing world.

Stomach, lung and liver cancers were most prevalent among men in the developing countries while breast, cervix and stomach cancers were most common among women.

Liver cancer is linked to hepatitis B and C infection while infections by a bacteria Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), is a major casue of stomach cancer and infection by human papillomavirus (HPV) increases the risk of cervical cancer.

In contrast, in the developed world, the most commonly diagnosed cancers in men are prostate, lung, and colorectal. Breast, colorectal, and lung cancer were the three most common in women.

In developing countries, survival rates are lower, reflecting a lack of prevention, early detection, and treatment resources. For example, the IARC found that five-year survival rates for children with cancer were around 75 per cent in Europe and North America, but only 48 per cent to 62 per cent in Central America.

Global Cancer Facts and Figures 2007 provides data on the increase in tobacco use in developing countries, and warns that that if current patterns continue, the number of smokers worldwide will reach 2 billion by 2030. In 2000, an estimated 5 million people died from diseases related to smoking, and of these, about 1.42 million were from cancer.

Approximately 84 per cent of the nearly 1.3 billion smokers worldwide live in developing countries, says the World Health Organization.

The cancer burden is “increasing as people in the developing countries adopt western lifestyles such as cigarette smoking, higher consumption of saturated fat and calorie-dense foods, and reduced physical activity," said Ahmedin Jemal, PhD, American Cancer Society epidemiologist, and co-author of the report.
.