Bottom Line:

• Cancers figure among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 14 million new cases and 8.2 million cancer related deaths in 2012.
• The number of new cases is expected to rise by about 70% over the next 2 decades.
• More than 30% of cancer deaths could be prevented by modifying or avoiding key risk factors

Additional Information

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 8.2 million deaths in 2012 (1). The most common causes of cancer death are cancers of:

• lung (1.59 million deaths)
• liver (745 000 deaths)
• stomach (723 000 deaths)
• colorectal (694 000 deaths)
• breast (521 000 deaths)
• oesophageal cancer (400 000 deaths) (1).

More than 30% of cancer deaths could be prevented by modifying or avoiding key risk factors, including:

• tobacco use
• being overweight or obese
• unhealthy diet with low fruit and vegetable intake
• lack of physical activity
• alcohol use
• sexually transmitted HPV-infection
• infection by HBV
• ionizing and non-ionizing radiation
• urban air pollution
• indoor smoke from household use of solid fuels.

References

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/