Authors intended to provide a framework for policy discussion, resource allocation, and research focus and therefore ascertained the burden for 29 cancer groups over time. Cancer incidence, deaths, and associated disability demonstrate large disparities between countries. They noted that for health equity and to fulfill the global commitments for noncommunicable disease and cancer control, scaling up cancer prevention and ensuring universal access to cancer care was required.

Methods

• Experts evaluated the cancer incidence, mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 195 countries and territories by age and sex using the Global Burden of Disease study estimation methods.
• They analyzed the levels and trends over time, as well as by the Sociodemographic Index (SDI).
• They categorized the changes in incident cases by changes due to epidemiological vs demographic transition.

Results

• According to results, in 2016, there were 17.2 million cancer cases worldwide and 8.9 million deaths.
• Between 2006 and 2016, cancer cases increased by 28%, with high SDI countries demonstrating the smallest increase.
• Data demonstrated that globally, population aging contributed 17%; population growth, 12%; and changes in age-specific rates, -1% to this change.
• Globally, for men the most common incident cancer was prostate cancer (1.4 million cases).
• Tracheal, bronchus, and lung cancer were the leading cause of cancer deaths and DALYs (1.2 million deaths and 25.4 million DALYs).
• Breast cancer was the most common incident cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths and DALYs for women (1.7 million incident cases, 535,000 deaths, and 14.9 million DALYs).
• Researchers noted that in 2016, cancer caused 213.2 million DALYs globally for both sexes combined.
• They found that the average annual age-standardized incidence rates for all cancers combined increased in 130 of 195 countries or territories, and the average annual age-standardized death rates decreased within that time frame in 143 of 195 countries or territories between 2006 and 2016.