Cancer rates rise faster in women the men

Latest figures released by Cancer Research UK have shown that cancer rates will climb nearly six times faster in women than in men over the next 20 years.

Ahead of World Cancer Day, held on 4 February, the cancer charity has revealed projections showing that UK cancer rates will increase by 0.54 per cent for men and by 3.18 per cent per cent for women, meaning that by 2035 an estimated 4.5 million women and 4.8 million men will be diagnosed with cancer in the 20 year period.

Worldwide cancer statistics show that the global burden of cancer has reached an estimated 7.4 million men and an estimated 6.7 million women being diagnosed each year, accounting for 15 per cent of all deaths.

Widespread smoking, considered alongside obesity as part of the reason for the faster rising rates for women, continues to have a big effect on the number of cancer cases diagnosed each year.

Specific cancer types, including ovarian, cervical and oral cancers, are leading to the rise in women, with rates for these cancers predicted to rise the most over the next 20 years.

Sir Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said: “These new figures reveal the huge challenge we continue to face, both in the UK and worldwide. Research is at the heart of finding ways to reduce cancer’s burden and ensure more people survive, particularly for hard-to-treat cancers where the outlook for patients is still bleak. We need to keep working hard to reduce the devastating impact cancer can have on so many families.

“The latest figures show that more than eight million people die from cancer each year across the world. More people die from cancer than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis put together. With more investment into research, we hope to make big improvements over the next 20 years in diagnosing the disease earlier and improving and developing treatments so that by 2034, three in four people will survive their disease.”

As the number of men and women being diagnosed with cancer continues to surge, Cancer Research UK is funding research across the country to find better treatments and ways to diagnose the disease early when treatment is more likely to be successful.