Cancer statistics for the year 2020: An overview
2021/04/05 by Jacques Ferlay, Murielle Colombet, Isabelle Soerjomataram +5 · 5,752 citations
Medicine · #Agency (philosophy) #Cancer #Colorectal Cancer Screening and Detection #Computer science #Environmental health #Global Cancer Incidence and Screening #Internal medicine #International agency #Library science #Medicine #Multiple and Secondary Primary Cancers #Political science #Population #Social science #Sociology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1002/ijc.33588
published in International Journal of Cancer 149(4), 778-789 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2021/04/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Abstract
Our study briefly reviews the data sources and methods used in compiling the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) GLOBOCAN cancer statistics for the year 2020 and summarises the main results. National estimates were calculated based on the best available data on cancer incidence from population-based cancer registries (PBCR) and mortality from the World Health Organization mortality database. Cancer incidence and mortality rates for 2020 by sex and age groups were estimated for 38 cancer sites and 185 countries or territories worldwide. There were an estimated 19.3 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 19.0-19.6 million) new cases of cancer (18.1 million excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) and almost 10.0 million (95% UI: 9.7-10.2 million) deaths from cancer (9.9 million excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) worldwide in 2020. The most commonly diagnosed cancers worldwide were female breast cancer (2.26 million cases), lung (2.21) and prostate cancers (1.41); the most common causes of cancer death were lung (1.79 million deaths), liver (830000) and stomach cancers (769000).
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