Cancer is becoming a global crisis shaped less by biology than by inequality, risk exposure, and access to care.
Global cancer diagnoses and deaths rose sharply between 1990 and 2023, even as treatments improved and prevention efforts expanded. Without swift action and focused investment, projections indicate that 30.5 million people will be newly diagnosed with cancer and 18.6 million will die from the disease in 2050, with more than half of new cases and nearly two thirds of deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), according to a major analysis by the Global Burden of Disease Study Cancer Collaborators published in The Lancet.
Although the total number of cancer cases and deaths is expected to climb significantly from 2024 to 2050, there is a more nuanced picture beneath those totals. When cancer incidence and mortality are adjusted for age, global rates are not projected to rise. This indicates that much of the increase is being driven by population growth and the expanding proportion of older adults worldwide.
Even so, this trend falls well short of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of cutting premature deaths from non-communicable diseases, including cancer, by one third by 2030.
“Cancer remains an important contributor to disease burden globally and our study highlights how it is anticipated to grow substantially over the coming decades, with disproportionate growth in countries with limited resources,” said lead author Dr. Lisa Force from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. “Despite the clear need for action, cancer control policies and implementation remain underprioritized in global health, and there is insufficient funding to address this challenge in many settings.”
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