WHO warns of alarming rise in cancer cases, calls for more action

Feb 3, 2012, 9:48 GMT

Manila - The number of cancer cases worldwide are increasing at an alarming rate and governments must strengthen national programmes to raise awareness and reduce risks and suffering from the disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday.

By 2030, there could be 21.4 million people with cancer worldwide, up from 12.7 million in 2008, with nearly two-thirds of the patients coming from low- and medium-income countries, the WHO warned on the eve of World Cancer Day.

Shin Young Soo, WHO's regional director for the Western Pacific, said well-organized national programmes could help reduce the burden of cancer, which falls heaviest on the poor, who are more exposed to risk factors and have less access to preventive services.

'We need to put our knowledge into action,' he said. 'Cancer control should become everyone's responsibility. To win the battle against cancer, the health sector must join hands with other sectors, such as agriculture, education, the environment, the food industry, trade and transportation.'

The WHO's Western Pacific Region, which covers 37 countries in Asia and the Pacific, accounted for 32 per cent of all cancers in 2008.

'There were slightly more than 4 million new cases of cancer in the region in 2008 - 2.31 million in men and 1.75 million in women,' the WHO said. 'Nearly 2.6 million people in the region died from cancer in that year.'