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The following is a summary of “Global burden of cancer and associated risk factors in 204 countries and territories, 1980–2021: a systematic analysis for the GBD 2021,” published in the November 2024 issue of Hematology by Wu et al.
Cancer, the second leading cause of death globally, requires investigation into its incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) to improve prevention and healthcare resource allocation.
They assessed cancer burden and risk factors in 204 countries from 1980 to 2021, analyzing incidence, mortality, and DALYs.
They selected data on cancer incidence, mortality rates, and risk factors from the global burden of disease (GBD) study tool for 204 countries from 1980 to 2021. They estimated age-standardized incidence (ASIR) and age-standardized deaths (ASDR) for 34 cancer types categorized as level 3 causes.
The results showed that in 2021, cancer accounted for 14.57% (95% uncertainty interval: 13.65–15.28) of total deaths and 8.8% (7.99–9.67) of total DALYs globally. ASIR and ASDR were 790.33 (694.43–893.01) and 116.49 (107.28–124.69), respectively. Females had a higher ASIR than males (923.44 vs 673.09), while males had a higher ASDR (145.69 vs 93.60). Non-melanoma skin cancer had the highest ASIR (74.10), and digestive cancers caused 39.29% of cancer-related deaths. Asia had the highest cancer burden. In females, breast cancer had the highest ASIR (46.40) and ASDR (14.55). In males, tracheal, bronchial, and lung cancer (LC) had the highest ASIR (37.85) and ASDR (34.32). Tobacco accounted for 29.32% (25.32–33.14) of male cancer DALYs, with dietary risks, alcohol, and air pollution contributing 5.89% (2.01–10.73), 5.48% (4.83–6.11), and 4.30% (2.77–5.95), respectively.
Investigators highlighted cancer as a major global public health issue and emphasized the importance of understanding cancer etiologies for effective control and targeted interventions.
Source: jhoonline.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13045-024-01640-8
