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WHO / CANCER TRENDS
WHO/ IARC/FILE
STORY: WHO / CANCER TRENDS
TRT: 2.33
SOURCE: WHO / IARC / IAEA
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 12 DECEMBER 2013, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
FILE – RECENT, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, Palais des Nations
12 DECEMBER 2013, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2. Wide shot, dais
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Christopher Wild, Director of IARC:
“The total number of cases worldwide is continuing to increase and this is a pattern which is really reflecting the ageing of the population and the increasing size of the population worldwide. But I think the second important message from this report today is that those increases are being felt particularly in the low and middle income countries, and the consequence of that of course is that cancer needs to become a priority really for health ministries across the world and not just in the richer nations.”
4. Med shot, press
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Christopher Wild, Director of IARC:
“Breast cancer is becoming so common in the vast majority of countries worldwide. This is also a cancer for which one can do something positive by earlier detection of the cancer and ensuring access to treatment at those early stages. We have seen that happen in other parts of the world and for me this was a real wake-up call that we have to start thinking seriously about combating breast cancer in parts of the world where traditionally this has not been a priority such as Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Latin America and South-East Asia.”
6. Med shot, press
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. David Forman, Head of the IARC Section of Cancer Information:
“There are 14 million new cancer cases each year from our latest estimates. That will increase to something like 19 million by the year 2025, simply as a result of demographic change in the population. The majority of cancers are now occurring in less developed regions of the world. Amongst women, one sees this domination of breast and cervical cancer. There are large variations internationally in the incidents and relative mortality for breast cancer and there are large international and regional variations for cervical cancer despite our current ability to prevent this disease.”
8. Wide shot, dais
FILE - IAEA - DATE UNKNOWN, SRI LANKA
9. Various shots, patients waiting in oncology ward
FILE – 2010, TANZANIA
10. Med shot, patient being treated at Ocean Road Cancer Institute in Tanzania
FILE – 2006, BAKU, AZERBAIJAN
11. Various shots, female patient getting ready to receive radiological treatment
More women are being diagnosed with and dying from breast cancer, the specialized cancer agency of the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) today (12 December) reported, calling for greater attention to prevention and control measures to offset lifestyle changes which pushed breast cancer to be the leading cause of cancer death among women.
Global cancer rates jumped to more than 14 million last year, with some 1.7 million women diagnosed with breast cancer last, an increase of 20 per cent since 2008, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), while the mortality rate rose 14 per cent over that time period with 522,000 deaths in 2012.
SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Christopher Wild, Director of IARC:
“The total number of cases worldwide is continuing to increase and this is a pattern which is really reflecting the ageing of the population and the increasing size of the population worldwide. But I think the second important message from this report today is that those increases are being felt particularly in the low and middle income countries, and the consequence of that of course is that cancer needs to become a priority really for health ministries across the world and not just in the richer nations.”
In 2012, 1.7 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer and there were 6.3 million women alive who had been diagnosed with breast cancer in the previous five years. Since the 2008 estimates, breast cancer incidence has increased by more than 20%, while mortality has increased by 14%. Breast cancer is also the most common cause of cancer death among women (522,000 deaths in 2012) and the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in 140 of 184 countries worldwide. It now represents one in four of all cancers in women.
SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Christopher Wild, Director of IARC:
“Breast cancer is becoming so common in the vast majority of countries worldwide. This is also a cancer for which one can do something positive by earlier detection of the cancer and ensuring access to treatment at those early stages. We have seen that happen in other parts of the world and for me this was a real wake-up call that we have to start thinking seriously about combating breast cancer in parts of the world where traditionally this has not been a priority such as Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Latin America and South-East Asia.”
In addition, cervical cancer is the fourth most common type of cancer affecting women, after breast, colorectal and lung cancer, particularly in areas with lower levels of development which lack access to effective screening and where the HPV vaccine and other services are not available.
SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. David Forman, Head of the IARC Section of Cancer Information:
“There are 14 million new cancer cases each year from our latest estimates. That will increase to something like 19 million by the year 2025, simply as a result of demographic change in the population. The majority of cancers are now occurring in less developed regions of the world. Amongst women, one sees this domination of breast and cervical cancer. There are large variations internationally in the incidents and relative mortality for breast cancer and there are large international and regional variations for cervical cancer despite our current ability to prevent this disease.”
The cancer is particularly active in sub-Saharan Africa where 34.8 new cases are diagnosed each year per 100,000 women, as compared with between 6.6 and 2.5 new cases in North America. Meanwhile, more than one-fifth of all new cases are diagnosed with India.
Incidence rates remain highest in more developed regions, but mortality is relatively higher in developing countries due to a lack of early detection and access to treatment facilities.
That trend extends to all types of cancer, with nearly 57 per cent of instances and 65 per cent of deaths last year reported in less developing countries, a tendency expected to further increase by 2025.
Overall, an estimated 14.1 million people developed cancer last year and 8.2 million died of cancer-related reasons, according to the IARC’s new online database, GLOBOCAN 2012. Those figures are compared with 12.7 million new instances in 2008, and 7.6 million deadly cases.
Reviewing information for 28 types of cancer in 184 countries, IARC found that the most commonly diagnosed cancers worldwide in men and women combined were lung, breast and colorectal cancers. The most common causes of cancer death were lung, liver and stomach cancers.
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