A new study has predicted that the number of cancer diagnoses and deaths among men will increase throughout the world by 2050.
The research was published on August 12 in a peer-reviewed journal put out by the American Cancer Society. It revealed that, globally, men would have a rise in cancer cases by 84% and die from the disease at a 93% increased rate. This estimation is expected to take place from 2022 and 2050.
The alarming numbers were highest concerning men who are over the age of 65 and in populations that have a human development index—which monitors every country’s progress in the areas of understanding health and standard of living—of low or medium.
The consensus among researchers was reached after they considered data from 185 countries and 30 separate kinds of cancer, courtesy of the Global Cancer Observatory’s collected information. Such grim predictions are only confirming similar expectations outlined in previous research.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said earlier in 2024 that there will be an overall 77% rise in cancer cases across the globe by 2050—amounting to over 35 million new cases in the next 25 years—compared to the 2022 numbers of 20 million new cases. This statistic was gathered based on data from 115 countries, including both men and women.
Along with its survey results, the WHO suggested contributing factors to the worldwide spike in cancer cases. Some reasons given include obesity, tobacco use, drinking alcohol, and air pollution exposure. The American Cancer Society’s recent study also suggested that consuming alcohol and smoking are “modifiable risk factors” as it relates to men.
In a press release, the study’s lead author—Habtamu Mellie Bizuayehu of the Australian University of Queensland—said that there must a “coordinated multisectoral approach” if there is any hope of “revers[ing]” the current expectations outlined in the research.
Bizuayehu added that such steps include developing global health coverage and infrastructure as well as opening medical schools which are funded by the public and scholarships, better equipping professionals to “improve cancer care.”
