The Globocan 2012 figures show a rise in the incidence of cancer worldwide. In Australia we are seeing more people being diagnosed with cancer, largely due to our ageing population. More people are living to an age where cancer becomes more common. In addition, it probably reflects more men having PSA tests for prostate cancer.
The good news for Australia is that our death rate from cancer is decreasing. This is largely due to better treatments and population screening programs for breast, cervical and bowel cancer. It is a tragedy that the high rate of cervical cancer in developing nations could be addressed by the introduction of screening programs, alongside a HPV vaccination program like the one that has proven so successful in Australia.
Professor Ian Olver is CEO of the Cancer Council Australia.
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The worldwide cancer incidence and consequential deaths presented in GLOBOCAN 2012, broken down in respect of both geography and tumour type, represents the most definitive and accessible information about the global burden of this disease.
The gravest message concerns the increasing cancer burden in middle- and low-income countries that find themselves almost overwhelmed by (1) cancer attributable to various infections, (2) cancer attributable to western lifestyle practices which are increasingly adopted, and (3)...
