Foreword
The world has opened its eyes to the threat posed by cancer and other noncommunicable diseases
(NCDs). Realization is growing, in global political circles and in civil society, that these diseases
constitute a major obstacle to human development and well-being.
The United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of
Noncommunicable Diseases, held in September 2011, marked a turning point in the awareness of
political leaders and the international community of the need for urgent action to avert a worldwidecrisis.
The new figures and projections of the global cancer burden presented in this edition of World CancerReport starkly highlight the problem: the incidence of cancer has increased from 12.7 million in 2008to 14.1 million in 2012, and this trend is projected to continue, with the number of new cases expectedto rise a further 75%. This will bring the number of cancer cases close to 25 million over the next twodecades. The greatest impact will unquestionably be in low- and middle-income countries, many ofwhich are ill-equipped to cope with this escalation in the number of people with cancer.
Many developing countries find themselves in the grip of cancers from two vastly different worlds.Those associated with the world of poverty, including infection-related cancers, are still common,while those associated with the world of plenty are increasingly prevalent, owing to the adoption of industrialized lifestyles, with increasing use of tobacco, consumption of alcohol and highly processed foods, and lack of physical activity.
This rising burden of cancer and other NCDs places enormous strains on the health-care systems ofdeveloping countries. Coupled with ageing populations and the spiralling costs of cancer treatment,increasing demands are placed on the health-care budgets of even the wealthiest nations. As a result,prevention is central to reducing or reversing the rise in cancer burden. The central role of prevention was acknowledged in the Political Declaration adopted at the United Nations meeting, which described it as the cornerstone of the global response.
The United Nations Political Declaration gave WHO a clear mandate to coordinate the global response to this threat along with some important time-bound responsibilities captured within the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs 2013–2020. IARC’s contribution has been and will continue to be instrumental in this process. Independent, robust scientific evidence is the foundation of the formulation of sound public health policies. The high-quality research produced by IARC is essential for the development of evidence-based guidelines and policy by WHO, and for the adoption of regulatory decisions by national institutions to protect the health of their populations.
This new edition of World Cancer Report represents a timely update on the state of knowledge on
cancer statistics, causes, and mechanisms, and on how this knowledge can be applied for the implementation of effective, resource-appropriate strategies for cancer prevention and early detection.
I am confident that World Cancer Report 2014, like the previous editions, will constitute a key
reference tool that will find extensive use among scientists, public health workers, and governments in supporting the implementation of national and regional plans for cancer prevention and control.
Dr Margaret Chan
Director-Genera
World Health Organizationl
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