Global, Regional, and National Cancer Incidence, Mortality, Years of Life Lost, Years Lived With Disability, and Disability-Adjusted Life-Years for 29 Cancer Groups, 1990 to 2017

Abstract

Importance Cancer and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are now widely recognized as a threat to global development. The latest United Nations high-level meeting on NCDs reaffirmed this observation and also highlighted the slow progress in meeting the 2011 Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases and the third Sustainable Development Goal. Lack of situational analyses, priority setting, and budgeting have been identified as major obstacles in achieving these goals. All of these have in common that they require information on the local cancer epidemiology. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study is uniquely poised to provide these crucial data.
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\nObjective To describe cancer burden for 29 cancer groups in 195 countries from 1990 through 2017 to provide data needed for cancer control planning.
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\nEvidence Review We used the GBD study estimation methods to describe cancer incidence, mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). Results are presented at the national level as well as by Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income, educational attainment, and total fertility rate. We also analyzed the influence of the epidemiological vs the demographic transition on cancer incidence.
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\nFindings In 2017, there were 24.5 million incident cancer cases worldwide (16.8 million without nonmelanoma skin cancer [NMSC]) and 9.6 million cancer deaths. The majority of cancer DALYs came from years of life lost (97%), and only 3% came from years lived with disability. The odds of developing cancer were the lowest in the low SDI quintile (1 in 7) and the highest in the high SDI quintile (1 in 2) for both sexes. In 2017, the most common incident cancers in men were NMSC (4.3 million incident cases); tracheal, bronchus, and lung (TBL) cancer (1.5 million incident cases); and prostate cancer (1.3 million incident cases). The most common causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for men were TBL cancer (1.3 million deaths and 28.4 million DALYs), liver cancer (572 000 deaths and 15.2 million DALYs), and stomach cancer (542 000 deaths and 12.2 million DALYs). For women in 2017, the most common incident cancers were NMSC (3.3 million incident cases), breast cancer (1.9 million incident cases), and colorectal cancer (819 000 incident cases). The leading causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for women were breast cancer (601 000 deaths and 17.4 million DALYs), TBL cancer (596 000 deaths and 12.6 million DALYs), and colorectal cancer (414 000 deaths and 8.3 million DALYs).
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\nConclusions and Relevance The national epidemiological profiles of cancer burden in the GBD study show large heterogeneities, which are a reflection of different exposures to risk factors, economic settings, lifestyles, and access to care and screening. The GBD study can be used by policy makers and other stakeholders to develop and improve national and local cancer control in order to achieve the global targets and improve equity in cancer

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Affiliated Institutions

• University of Dhaka BD
• Haramaya University ET
• Harvard University US
• Madda Walabu University ET
• University Hospital Heidelberg DE
• Wollo University ET
• King's College London GB
• Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences IR
• Mansoura University EG
• University College London GB
• Woldia University ET
• Australian National University AU
• Public Health Agency of Canada CA
• University of Toronto CA
• Ministry for Health MT
• Lorestan University of Medical Sciences IR
• Birmingham City University GB
• La Trobe University AU
• Duke University US
• Universidad Del Valle De Cuernavaca MX
• Zabol University of Medical Sciences IR
• Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar QA
• Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München DE
• Arak University of Medical Sciences IR
• University of Gondar ET
• University of Leicester GB
• Aksum University ET
• Georgetown University US
• VA St. Louis Health Care System US
• McGill University CA
• Wolaita Sodo University ET
• Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy RO
• Wachemo University
• New York University Abu Dhabi AE
• Qom University of Medical Science and Health Services IR
• University of the Coast CO
• University of Lahore PK
• Tehran University of Medical Sciences IR
• Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública MX
• Babol University of Medical Sciences IR
• Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences IR
• Dilla University ET
• Cairo University EG
• Mayo Clinic US
• Universiti Tun Abdul Razak MY
• Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology GH
• Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation US
• University of Manitoba CA
• Jahrom University of Medical Sciences IR
• Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University SA
• Case Western Reserve University US
• Mekelle University ET
• Iran University of Medical Sciences IR
• Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar IN
• Olabisi Onabanjo University NG
• Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital GH
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital US
• United Arab Emirates University AE
• Public Health Foundation of India IN
• National Institutes of Health US
• Jahrom University IR
• University of Ha'il SA
• University of Cartagena CO
• National University of Malaysia MY
• Universitätsklinikum Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum DE
• Tabriz University of Medical Sciences IR
• Clinical Research Institute US
• Duke Institute for Health Innovation US
• Hasanuddin University ID
• National Institute of Biomedical Genomics IN
• King Saud University SA
• Ain Shams University EG
• University of Calgary CA
• Urmia University IR
• Kuwait University KW
• Mashhad University of Medical Sciences IR
• University of Washington US
• University of Health and Allied Sciences GH
• Addis Ababa University ET
• Washington University in St. Louis US
• Mizan Tepi University ET
• University of Management and Technology PK
• University Hospital of Ioannina GR
• Heidelberg University DE
• Sharif University of Technology IR
• Jimma University ET

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