By Jim Lobe
WASHINGTON, Apr 3 2003 (IPS)

Global cancer rates are expected to rise by 50 percent to about 15 million new cases in 2020 and developing nations are especially at risk, says a massive report released here Thursday by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Countries of the South could be especially hard hit unless they begin implementing strong prevention strategies targeted primarily at discouraging tobacco use and encouraging healthy diets, according to the 351-page ‘World Cancer Report’ by WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

”The World Cancer Report tells us that cancer rates are set to increase at an alarming rate globally, but we can make a difference by acting today,” said Paul Kleihues, the IARC’s director and co-editor of the report.

”This reports calls on governments, health practitioners and the general public to take urgent action. Action now can prevent one third of cancers, cure another third, and provide good, palliative care to the remaining third who need it,” he said from IARC’s headquarters in Lyon, France.

The most important change required is to reduce smoking and tobacco use, the report says. Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide, accounting for 1.2 million cases every year and responsible for almost 20 percent of cancer’s annual global death toll of more than six million. Roughly 90 percent of lung cancers in both men and women are attributable to smoking in countries where the practice is popular with both genders.

The risk of contracting lung cancer is 20 to 30 times greater for smokers than for non-smokers, but tobacco consumption is believed to threaten more than the lungs. More than 50 percent of cases of bladder and renal pelvis cancer are believed to be caused by smoking, while the practice appears related in varying degrees to cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx and even of the digestive tract, according to the report.

The report’s prediction of a sharp increase in new cases – from 10 million to 15 million between 2000 and 2020 – will be mainly due to steadily aging populations in both developed and developing countries, as well as current trends in smoking and the adoption in poor countries of unhealthy western life-styles, including the consumption of fast foods.

Tobacco consumption and poor diet together accounted for approximately 2.7 million cancer deaths in 2000, or 43 percent of the total that year and roughly 40 percent of all new cases, according to Rafael Bengoa, director of the non-communicable diseases division at WHO. More active preventive efforts in these two areas could have a major impact, he said.

Once considered a ”western” disease, more than half of the world’s cancer cases and deaths now take place in developing countries, adds the report, which found that in wealthier countries some 50 percent of cancer patients die of the disease, while in poor countries, 80 percent of cases are fatal.

Because of advanced medical systems, the probability of being diagnosed with cancer is more than twice as high in rich countries. The difference is particularly dramatic for cervical cancer.

In developed countries with a good public-health infrastructure, routine use of PAP smears of women has led to a radical decline in mortality from cervical cancer, while in poor regions incidence and mortality remain very high. As a result, more than 80 percent of all cervical cancer deaths occur in developing countries.

According to the report, up to 23 percent of malignancies found in developing countries are caused by infectious agents, including hepatitis B and C viruses (liver cancer), cervical and ano-genital cancers, and stomach cancer.

Stomach cancer is among the most common malignancy globally, with some 879,000 cases and 650,000 deaths every year. About 60 percent of cases occur in developing countries, with the highest incidence rates found in East Asia, the South American Andes, and Eastern Europe.

But overall, stomach cancer is declining world-wide due primarily to the spread of refrigerators that preserve fish and meat without salting. In addition, the increased availability, particularly in wealthier countries, of fresh fruit and vegetables throughout the year has helped bring down the incidence of stomach cancer, adds the document.

Concerns about the likely spread of cancer in developing countries derive in major part from the adoption by growing numbers of inhabitants there of a ”western” lifestyle.

That lifestyle, according to the report, is characterised by a high-calorie diet rich in fat, refined carbohydrates and animal protein, combined with low physical activity. In addition to cancer, it is associated with a number of other conditions, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension.

Typical cancers for affluent societies include those of the breast, colon or rectum, uterus, gallbladder, kidney, prostate, and oesophagus. These malignancies all tend to go together: there is no region in the world that has a high incidence of breast cancer that does not have a high incidence of colon cancer.

Obesity, which has become a major new focus in the U.S. media due to the country’s status as the most obese population on earth, is also a strong predictor of increased cancer risk, particularly for cancers of the uterus, kidney and gall bladder, the report notes. Obesity is also spreading rapidly outside the United States.

Developed nations with the highest overall cancer rates include the United States, Italy, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, and France. Developing countries with the lowest cancer rates were found in northern Africa and South and East Asia.

Excerpt:

By Jim Lobe
WASHINGTON, Apr 3 2003 (IPS)

Global cancer rates are expected to rise by 50 percent to about 15 million new cases in 2020 and developing nations are especially at risk, says a massive report released here Thursday by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Global cancer rates are expected to rise by 50 percent to about 15 million new cases in 2020 and developing nations are especially at risk, says a massive report released here Thursday by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Countries of the South could be especially hard hit unless they begin implementing strong prevention strategies targeted primarily at discouraging tobacco use and encouraging healthy diets, according to the 351-page ‘World Cancer Report’ by WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

”The World Cancer Report tells us that cancer rates are set to increase at an alarming rate globally, but we can make a difference by acting today,” said Paul Kleihues, the IARC’s director and co-editor of the report.

”This reports calls on governments, health practitioners and the general public to take urgent action. Action now can prevent one third of cancers, cure another third, and provide good, palliative care to the remaining third who need it,” he said from IARC’s headquarters in Lyon, France.

The most important change required is to reduce smoking and tobacco use, the report says. Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide, accounting for 1.2 million cases every year and responsible for almost 20 percent of cancer’s annual global death toll of more than six million. Roughly 90 percent of lung cancers in both men and women are attributable to smoking in countries where the practice is popular with both genders.

The WHO’s proposed Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which is to be submitted for approval to the World Health Assembly (WHA) in May, urges countries to ban all tobacco advertising and increase taxes on sales of tobacco, requires at least 30 percent of a tobacco product’s package to be devoted to health warnings, and calls for all states to enforce bans on the sale of tobacco to minors.

The report’s prediction of a sharp increase in new cases – from 10 million to 15 million between 2000 and 2020 – will be mainly due to steadily aging populations in both developed and developing countries, as well as current trends in smoking and the adoption in poor countries of unhealthy western life-styles, including the consumption of fast foods.

Tobacco consumption and poor diet together accounted for approximately 2.7 million cancer deaths in 2000, or 43 percent of the total that year and roughly 40 percent of all new cases, according to Rafael Bengoa, director of the non-communicable diseases division at WHO. More active preventive efforts in these two areas could have a major impact, he said.

Once considered a ”western” disease, more than half of the world’s cancer cases and deaths now take place in developing countries, adds the report, which found that in wealthier countries some 50 percent of cancer patients die of the disease, while in poor countries, 80 percent of cases are fatal.

Because of advanced medical systems, the probability of being diagnosed with cancer is more than twice as high in rich countries. The difference is particularly dramatic for cervical cancer.

In developed countries with a good public-health infrastructure, routine use of PAP smears of women has led to a radical decline in mortality from cervical cancer, while in poor regions incidence and mortality remain very high. As a result, more than 80 percent of all cervical cancer deaths occur in developing countries.

According to the report, up to 23 percent of malignancies found in developing countries are caused by infectious agents, including hepatitis B and C viruses (liver cancer), cervical and ano-genital cancers, and stomach cancer.

Stomach cancer is among the most common malignancy globally, with some 879,000 cases and 650,000 deaths every year. About 60 percent of cases occur in developing countries, with the highest incidence rates found in East Asia, the South American Andes, and Eastern Europe.

But overall, stomach cancer is declining world-wide due primarily to the spread of refrigerators that preserve fish and meat without salting. In addition, the increased availability, particularly in wealthier countries, of fresh fruit and vegetables throughout the year has helped bring down the incidence of stomach cancer, adds the document.

Concerns about the likely spread of cancer in developing countries derive in major part from the adoption by growing numbers of inhabitants there of a ”western” lifestyle.

That lifestyle, according to the report, is characterised by a high-calorie diet rich in fat, refined carbohydrates and animal protein, combined with low physical activity. In addition to cancer, it is associated with a number of other conditions, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension.

Typical cancers for affluent societies include those of the breast, colon or rectum, uterus, gallbladder, kidney, prostate, and oesophagus. These malignancies all tend to go together: there is no region in the world that has a high incidence of breast cancer that does not have a high incidence of colon cancer.

Obesity, which has become a major new focus in the U.S. media due to the country’s status as the most obese population on earth, is also a strong predictor of increased cancer risk, particularly for cancers of the uterus, kidney and gall bladder, the report notes. Obesity is also spreading rapidly outside the United States.

Developed nations with the highest overall cancer rates include the United States, Italy, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, and France. Developing countries with the lowest cancer rates were found in northern Africa and South and East Asia.

Excerpt: