LYON, France, June 2 (UPI) -- Cancer diagnoses and deaths are estimated to double in the next two decades, officials at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, say.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, unveiled Wednesday its GLOBOCAN 2008, an online resource that provides worldwide estimates of the numbers of new cases of, and deaths from, cancer for 2008.
Christopher Wild, director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer says that by 2030, there will be nearly 21.4 million new cancer cases diagnosed -- mostly in developing countries -- and more than 13.2 million deaths, compared with 12.7 million new cases and 7.6 million deaths in 2008.
"These figures represent the most accurate assessment of the global cancer burden available at present and can be used in the setting of priorities for cancer control in different regions of the world," Wild says in a statement.
Fifty-six percent of new cancer cases in 2008 occurred within developing countries, with cervix and liver cancers the most common. Prostate and colorectal cancers are more prevalent in developed countries, Wild says.
Wild says lung, breast and colorectal cancer are the most commonly diagnosed cancers, but the most common causes of death are from lung, stomach and liver cancers.
