TORONTO – In less than two decades, cancer death rates will hit a “dramatic fall” around the world, according to projections presented by British scientists.
Researchers at Cancer Research UK predict that by 2030, death rates from a variety of cancers will drop by a steep 17 per cent at least.
About 170 people out of every 100,000 died from cancer in 2010 in the United Kingdom. But by 2030, the institution suggests the rate will change to 142 in every 100,000 patients.
“This is largely due to better survival rates, thanks to earlier diagnosis and improved treatments, but also reflects a reduction in smoking-related cancers leading to fewer deaths,” the organization says in a press release.
Ovarian cancer is set to see the “biggest fall” in people dying, with death rates expected to drop by over 40 per cent – or from 9.1 women per 100,000 to 5.3 by 2030.
Other killers, such as breast cancer, bowel cancer and prostate cancer, will also see a dramatic decline in the number of people dying.
By 2030, the death rate for breast cancer could drop by 28 per cent, while projections show a 23 per cent decrease in bowel cancer and 16 per cent for prostate cancer.
“What’s really encouraging is that the biggest cancer killers – lung, breast, bowel and prostate – are part of this falling trend,” Peter Sasieni, an epidemiologist with Cancer Research UK, said in a statement.
Cancer rates in Canada
Across the pond from the UK, the Canadian Cancer Society reports that death rates due to the disease have been steadily decreasing over the past two decades.
Lung, prostate, breast and colorectal cancers are the four most common cancer types in Canada and account for over 50 per cent of all new cancer cases.
Still, these four diseases saw declines in death rate between 1988 and 2008 – the overall death rate dropped by 21 per cent in men and nine per cent in women, CCS reported last May.
While men saw a huge decline in death rates, women may not have recorded the same results because of the uptake of females smoking prior to the 1980s, the organization said in a statement provided to Global News.
Smoking, an unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, excess body weight, alcohol consumption and overexposure to the sun or carcinogens account for a “substantial” number of cancer diagnoses and deaths in Canada, the society warns.
Take a look at these Cancer Research UK graphics illustrating the overall decline in cancer rates:
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