GENEVA — Nearly one in five people worldwide will develop cancer during their lifetime, according to a new assessment from the World Health Organization (WHO), which warns that the global burden of the disease continues to rise while access to life-saving care remains deeply unequal.
The report estimates that cancer already accounts for approximately 20.6 million new cases and 10 million deaths every year, with annual diagnoses expected to surge to almost 35 million by 2050 unless stronger prevention and treatment efforts are introduced.
For international travellers, expatriates and long-term residents living abroad, the findings serve as a reminder that cancer is becoming one of the defining global health challenges of this generation, regardless of where people live.
“For years, the story we’ve told about cancer has been one of scientific progress, new technologies, new treatments and new hope,” said Dr. Andre Ilbawi, who leads cancer control efforts at the WHO. “That story is true and deserves to be told, but it is not the whole story.”
According to the report, cancer will directly or indirectly affect around 92% of the global population, either through a personal diagnosis or that of a close family member.
A Growing Divide in Cancer Care
While medical breakthroughs continue to improve survival rates in wealthier countries, the report highlights a widening gap in access to prevention, diagnosis and treatment across much of the world.
In high-income nations, around 85% of patients diagnosed with breast cancer or childhood cancers survive for at least five years. In many lower-income countries, survival rates fall to below 30%.
The disparity extends beyond treatment outcomes.
WHO found that low and lower-middle income countries often have access to only 9% to 54% of the world’s priority cancer medicines, compared with 68% to 94% in wealthier nations. Twenty-three countries still have no radiotherapy facilities at all.
Financial hardship remains another major obstacle. The report notes that two-thirds of countries do not fully include cancer treatment within national health coverage, forcing many patients to pay out of pocket. In some regions, as many as 90% of patients discontinue treatment because they simply cannot afford to continue.
The Hidden Cost Beyond Medicine
The report also explores the emotional and social consequences of cancer, revealing widespread financial stress, mental health challenges and enormous pressure placed on family caregivers.
Abigail Simon-Hart, a breast cancer survivor and patient advocate from Nigeria, described families facing heartbreaking choices.
“Parents have to choose between paying for treatment and keeping their children in school,” she said. “Some children leave school because every available resource is spent on cancer care.”
She also highlighted how social stigma remains a deadly barrier in some communities, recalling women who delayed or refused life-saving mastectomy surgery because they feared social rejection more than the disease itself.
Prevention May Be the Biggest Opportunity
Despite the alarming projections, WHO says the future is not entirely bleak.
One of the report’s strongest messages is that many cancers are preventable.
Dr. Isabelle Soerjomataram, Deputy Head of the Surveillance Branch at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), said around four in every ten new cancer cases are linked to risk factors that can already be reduced or controlled.
These include:
- Tobacco use
- Harmful alcohol consumption
- Certain infections
- Excess body weight
The report also points to encouraging progress in global tobacco control, expanding national cancer strategies and credible pathways toward eliminating cervical cancer through vaccination and screening.
For millions of people around the world, the greatest challenge may no longer be whether science can treat cancer, but whether healthcare systems can ensure those advances reach everyone who needs them.
As cancer cases continue to climb over the coming decades, WHO argues that prevention, early detection and equitable access to treatment will be just as important as the next medical breakthrough.
