Cancer: One Leading Cause of Death Worldwide

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In 2004 alone, cancer accounted for about 7.4 million deaths globally. Experts believe that cancer related deaths worldwide would further rise each year. In fact, the WHO estimates that cancer will cause 12 million deaths in 2030.

In the United States, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimates that more than 1,470,000 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in 2009. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cancer is ranked as the second leading cause of death in the United States, next to heart disease. In a new report from the leading U.S. cancer organizations, both the incidence and death rates for all cancers combined are decreasing for both men and women in the United States. However, in the report, there is a large state and regional difference regarding lung cancer trends among women. The findings came from the "Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2005, Featuring Trends in Lung Cancer, Tobacco Use and Tobacco Control", which appeared in the Dec. 2, 2008, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Cancer is a general term used for diseases wherein there is abnormal division of cells-the ones that form tissues. Cancer cells can escape from the organ of origin, travel through the blood and lymphatic systems and can cause cancer in other parts of the body. The spread of cancer is termed as metastasis

Normally, cells grow and divide to form new cells to replace dead or worn-out cells. This orderly process is needed for repair of damaged tissues and growth of organs or the entire individual. However, this normal process can sometimes go wrong and cells go haywire, producing new cells when the body does not need them. These abnormally dividing cells can form a mass of tissue called tumor.

There are over a hundred types of cancer. Most of the common types of cancer are named for the organ or type of cell in which they start. For example, a cancer that starts in the stomach is called stomach cancer; cancer that starts in the lungs is called lung cancer; and cancer that starts in the basal cells of the skin is called basal cell carcinoma. When cancer cells do spread and cause cancer or tumor in other organs, the cancer cells are still named according to the organ where they started. For example, if colon cancer spreads to the stomach, the cancer cells in the stomach are actually called colon cancer cells. The condition is called metastatic colon cancer, not stomach cancer.

The leading cause of cancer related deaths, according to the World Health Organization, is lung cancer. It accounts for about 1.3 million deaths each year. While lung cancer is the most common cause of death due to cancer in males, it is entirely different in females. The leading cause of cancer related deaths in females worldwide is breast cancer. In the US, according to the CDC, breast cancer is ranked as the number one cause of cancer death in Hispanic women. It is the second most common cause of cancer death in white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native women. But overall, breast cancer ranked as the seventh leading cause of death for women in the United States, according to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program

The World Health Organization noted that the most frequent types of cancer among men worldwide are lung, stomach, liver, colorectal, esophagus and prostate cancers. Among women, the most common types of cancer worldwide are breast, lung, stomach, colorectal and cervical cancers. These most common types of cancer are arranged in order according to the number of global deaths.

Cancer related deaths vary from country to country. Majority of cancer deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries. In fact, according to the WHO, 70% of all cancer related deaths were from these countries.

According to a U.S. Surgeon General's report, cigarette smoking accounts for about 30 percent of all cancer deaths, with lung cancer accounting for 80 percent of the smoking-attributable cancer deaths. Smoking may also cause cancers oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, stomach, bladder, pancreas, liver, kidney, and uterine cervix and myeloid leukemia. The World Health Organization said that tobacco use is the single most important risk factor for cancer. And the National Cancer Institute states that avoiding tobacco use is the single most important step Americans can take to reduce the cancer burden in the U.S.

With the rise of cancer related deaths, which experts projected to increase further, more extensive research and information dissemination should be a priority. Early detection in treatment is critical to the survival of the cancer patient. Also, according to the WHO, "cancer can be reduced and controlled by implementing evidence-based strategies for cancer prevention, early detection of cancer and management of patients with cancer."

Sources:

World Health Organization (WHO) Media Centre (Fact Sheet No. 297, February http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/index.html (Accessed on October 19, 2009)

US National Cancer Institute (October 15, 2009). What You Need to Know About™: Cancer. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Accessed: October 19, 2009

US National Cancer Institute (May 11, 2009). What is Cancer? National Institutes of Health (NIH). http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/what-is-cancer (Accessed on October 20, 2009)

U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group.United States Cancer Statistics: 1999-2005 Incidence and Mortality Web-based Report. Atlanta (GA): Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Cancer Institute; 2009. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/uscs (Accessed on October 20, 1009)Fast Stats: An interactive tool for access to Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer statistics. Surveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute. http://www.seer.cancer.gov/ (Accessed on October 20, 2009

Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. SEER*Stat Database: Mortality - All COD, Public-Use with State, Total U.S. (1969-2005), National Cancer Institute, DCCPS, Surveillance Research Program, Cancer Statistics Branch, released February 2008. Underlying mortality data provided by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

Jemal A, Thun MJ, Ries LAG, Howe HL,Weir HK, Center MM, Ward E, Wu X, Eheman C, Anderson R, Ajani U, Kohler B, Edwards BK. Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2005, Featuring Trends in Lung Cancer, Tobacco Use and Tobacco Control. Journal of the National Cancer Institute; Published online Nov. 25, 2008; Print issue Dec. 2, 2008. Vol. 100, No. 23. http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/djn389?ijkey=7gzxMw78EFM11MN&keytype=ref