Cancer rates are increasing in developing countries due to changing lifestyles linked with economic growth, the American Cancer Society (ACS) said on Friday.
The majority of the world's annual new cancer cases and deaths (7.1 million and 4.8 million, respectively) are now occurring in economically developing countries, the ACS said in a report published by HealthDay News.
This reflects the growing adoption of unhealthy behaviours -- such as smoking, sedentary lifestyles and poor diets -- that typically accompany economic development, according to the report which was released to mark the World Cancer Day that fell on February 4.
The report, "Global Cancer Facts & Figures," highlights lung, breast and colorectal cancers as being particularly vulnerable to this dynamic.
According to the ACS report, there were 12.7 million new cancer cases and 7.6 million cancer deaths worldwide in 2008.
The numbers are expected to almost double by 2030 as the world’s population both grows and ages, the report predicted.
In economically developed nations, as of 2008, prostrate, lung and colorectal cancers are the most prevalent among men, while breast, colorectal and lung cancers are the most common among women, the report said.
By contrast, in developing countries, the biggest risk for men appears to be lung, stomach and liver cancers, with breast, cervical and lung cancers the primary cancer threats for women, said the report.
The report also noted that while just 10 per cent of all cancers in the economically developed world are a function of infection, that figure rises to one-quarter of all cancers in the economically developing world.
The ACS called for greater prevention efforts to reduce cancer rates.
About one-third of all cancer deaths that occurred worldwide in 2008 (equal to roughly 7,300 deaths per day) might have been avoided by focusing on preventable risk factors such as smoking, drinking, infection patterns and dietary habits, ACS chief medical officer Dr. Otis W. Brawley suggested in an editorial accompanying the report.
"The worldwide application of existing cancer control knowledge according to the capacity and economic development of countries or regions could lead to the prevention of even more cancer deaths in the next two to three decades," he noted.
"In order to achieve this, however, national and international public health agencies, governments, donors, and the private sectors must play major roles in the development and implementation of national or regional cancer control programs worldwide," he added.