According to estimates from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), in 2018 there were 17.0 million new cancer cases and 9.5 million cancer deaths worldwide. By 2040, the global burden is expected to grow to 27.5 million new cancer cases and 16.3 million cancer deaths simply due to the growth and aging of the population. The future burden will probably be even larger due to increasing prevalence of factors that increase risk, such as smoking, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and fewer childbirths, in economically transitioning countries.
The American Cancer Society’s Global Cancer Facts & Figures provides an overview of the international cancer burden, including the estimated numbers of new cancer cases and deaths worldwide and by level of development, as well as detailed information on select cancer sites.
The current and previous editions of American Cancer Society’s Global Cancer Facts & Figures titles have been assembled here in an electronic format (PDF) to make it easy for you to use them. Please note that any reproduction or re-use should credit the appropriate American Cancer Society Global Cancer Facts & Figures publication and include a statement of copyright.
Global Cancer Facts & Figures publications are available for free download as full-text PDF files.
Global Cancer Facts & Figures 4th Edition is accompanied by “Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries,” a scientific paper published in the American Cancer Society journal, CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.