Cancer facts & figures

The big five

Source: GLOBOCAN 2002 http://www-dep.iarc.fr

Top 5 most common cancers worldwide are lung, breast, bowel, stomach and prostate.

In 2002 there were 1352,100 new cases of lung cancer diagnosed worldwide, representing 18% of all cancers  (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer). New cancers of the breast contributed 10%, bowel and stomach cancers 9% each and prostate cancer 6%.

In men the top three cancers are lung (17%), prostate (12%) and stomach (10%). In women the top three cancers are breast (23%), cervix (10%) and bowel (9%).

There are differences also between more and less developed regions of the world. In men the top three cancers diagnosed in more developed regions are prostate (19%), lung (18%) and bowel (13%), whereas in less developed regions they are lung (16%), stomach (13%) and liver (12%). Lung cancer is an important cancer for both regions. In women the most common cancer for both regions is breast cancer (more developed 27% and less developed 19%). In more developed regions the next most common cancers are bowel (14%) and lung (8.4%), while in less developed regions they are cervix (15%) and stomach (8%).

Top three cancers in men

Top three cancers in women

General Cancer Statistics