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Home Cancer statistics Data comparing more and less developed countries
Data comparing more and less developed countries
Here you can find out more about differences in age-standardised rates of cancer between more and less developed countries. Although cancer is often considered to be more of a developed world issue, in fact 56 per cent of all cancers (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) occur in less developed countries and 44 per cent in more developed countries.
Overall the age-standardised cancer rate (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) is higher in more developed countries. There were 255 cases of cancer diagnosed per 100,000 in more developed regions, compared to 149 in less developed regions in 2008.
Both sexes
- The rate for all cancers (for cancers that occur in men and women) was 1.7 times higher in more developed compared with less developed countries.
- For melanoma of the skin, kidney cancer and multiple myeloma rates were more than three times higher in more developed compared with less developed countries.
- For nasopharyngeal cancer the rate was nearly four times higher in less developed than more developed countries.
| Age-Standardised Rate per 100,000 (World) | |||
| Cancer | WORLD | More Developed | Less Developed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lung | 23.0 | 31.3 | 19.1 |
| Colorectum | 17.3 | 30.1 | 10.7 |
| Stomach | 14.1 | 11.4 | 15.3 |
| Liver | 10.8 | 5.2 | 13.1 |
| Oesophagus | 7.0 | 3.6 | 8.7 |
| Bladder | 5.3 | 9.1 | 3.3 |
| Non-Hodgkin lymphoma | 5.1 | 8.6 | 3.5 |
| Leukaemia | 5.0 | 7.3 | 4.0 |
| Kidney | 4.0 | 8.6 | 1.9 |
| Pancreas | 3.9 | 6.8 | 2.4 |
| Lip, oral cavity | 3.8 | 4.4 | 3.6 |
| Brain, nervous system | 3.5 | 5.1 | 3.0 |
| Thyroid | 3.1 | 6.1 | 2.2 |
| Melanoma of skin | 2.8 | 9.0 | 0.6 |
| Larynx | 2.2 | 2.8 | 2.0 |
| Other pharynx | 2.0 | 2.5 | 1.9 |
| Gallbladder | 2.0 | 2.2 | 1.8 |
| Multiple myeloma | 1.4 | 2.7 | 0.8 |
| Nasopharynx | 1.2 | 0.4 | 1.5 |
| Hodgkin lymphoma | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.7 |
| All cancers excl. non-melanoma skin cancer | 181.6 | 255.8 | 147.8 |
Source: GLOBOCAN 2008 database (version 1.2) http://globocan.iarc.fr
Men
- The rate for all cancers was 1.9 times higher in more developed compared with less developed countries.
- Cancer rates were at least three times higher in more developed than less developed countries for cancers of the prostate, colorectum, bladder, kidney, pancreas and testis, multiple myeloma and melanoma of the skin.
- Higher cancer rates were observed in less developed compared with more developed countries for cancers of the stomach, liver, oesophagus and nasopharynx.
| Age-Standardised Rate per 100,000 (World) | |||
| Cancer | WORLD | More Developed | Less Developed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lung | 33.9 | 47.1 | 27.8 |
| Prostate | 28.0 | 61.7 | 12.0 |
| Colorectum | 20.4 | 37.7 | 12.1 |
| Stomach | 19.8 | 16.7 | 21.1 |
| Liver | 16.0 | 8.2 | 18.9 |
| Oesophagus | 10.2 | 6.5 | 11.8 |
| Bladder | 9.0 | 16.3 | 5.4 |
| Non-Hodgkin lymphoma | 6.1 | 10.3 | 4.2 |
| Leukaemia | 5.9 | 9.0 | 4.5 |
| Lip, oral cavity | 5.3 | 6.8 | 4.6 |
| Kidney | 5.2 | 11.9 | 2.5 |
| Pancreas | 4.5 | 8.3 | 2.7 |
| Larynx | 4.1 | 5.4 | 3.5 |
| Brain, nervous system | 3.8 | 5.8 | 3.2 |
| Other pharynx | 3.4 | 4.5 | 3.0 |
| Melanoma of skin | 3.1 | 9.6 | 0.7 |
| Gallbladder | 1.8 | 2.3 | 1.4 |
| Nasopharynx | 1.7 | 0.6 | 2.1 |
| Multiple myeloma | 1.7 | 3.3 | 0.9 |
| Testis | 1.5 | 4.6 | 0.8 |
| Thyroid | 1.5 | 2.9 | 1.0 |
| Hodgkin lymphoma | 1.2 | 2.2 | 0.9 |
| All cancers excl. non-melanoma skin cancer | 203.8 | 299.2 | 160.3 |
Source: GLOBOCAN 2008 database (version 1.2) http://globocan.iarc.fr
Women
- The rate for all cancers was 1.6 times higher in more developed compared with less developed countries.
- Cancer rates were at least three times higher in more developed than less developed countries for kidney cancer, multiple myeloma, melanoma of the skin and Hodgkins lymphoma.
- Higher cancer rates were observed in less developed compared with more developed countries for cancers of the cervix, stomach, liver, oesophagus, lip and oral cavity, gallbladder and nasopharynx.
| Age-Standardised Rate per 100,000 (World) | |||
| Cancer | WORLD | More Developed | Less Developed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breast | 39.0 | 66.4 | 27.3 |
| Cervix uteri | 15.3 | 9.1 | 17.8 |
| Colorectum | 14.7 | 24.3 | 9.5 |
| Lung | 13.6 | 18.8 | 11.1 |
| Stomach | 9.1 | 7.3 | 10.0 |
| Corpus uteri | 8.2 | 13.0 | 5.9 |
| Ovary | 6.3 | 9.3 | 5.0 |
| Liver | 6.0 | 2.7 | 7.6 |
| Thyroid | 4.7 | 9.2 | 3.4 |
| Leukaemia | 4.3 | 5.9 | 3.6 |
| Oesophagus | 4.2 | 1.2 | 5.7 |
| Non-Hodgkin lymphoma | 4.2 | 7.1 | 2.8 |
| Pancreas | 3.3 | 5.5 | 2.1 |
| Brain, nervous system | 3.2 | 4.4 | 2.8 |
| Kidney | 2.8 | 5.9 | 1.4 |
| Melanoma of skin | 2.7 | 8.7 | 0.6 |
| Lip, oral cavity | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.6 |
| Gallbladder | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.2 |
| Bladder | 2.2 | 3.6 | 1.4 |
| Multiple myeloma | 1.2 | 2.2 | 0.7 |
| Nasopharynx | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Other pharynx | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| Hodgkin lymphoma | 0.8 | 1.9 | 0.5 |
| Larynx | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| All cancers excl. non-melanoma skin cancer | 165.1 | 226.3 | 138.0 |
Source: GLOBOCAN 2008 database (version 1.2) http://globocan.iarc.fr