In an analysis that maps the world's hot spots for cancer, epidemiologist Lindsey Torre found a tremendous heterogeneity¹ in which forms of the disease are most commonly diagnosed in different countries.

 

Among the most significant trends they identified is a growing inequality between high-income countries and lower-income countries in cancer diagnoses -- with cancer rates declining in high-income countries but rising in lower-income countries.

 

The difference is especially striking in lung, colorectal and breast cancer. Better screening, early detection and access to treatment plus a decrease in risk factors like smoking probably explain part of the positive trend among the high-income countries.

 

As for the rising cancer rates in lower-income countries, "it's related to the adoption² of a Western lifestyle," Torre explained in an interview. "People are less active," she said. "There is less manual labor³ and more use of transport. They have access to perhaps more appealing but less healthy foods."

 

Torre and her colleagues at the American Cancer Society analyzed⁴ incidence and mortality data for 2003-2007 from the International Agency for Research on Cancer databases and mortality data from the World Health Organization through 2012. They selected 50 countries selected to represent various regions of the world and focused on eight major cancers.

 

Among males, prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in most countries, with the exception of those in Eastern Europe where lung cancer is the No. 1 cancer. Among females, breast cancer is the most common among those in North America, Europe and Oceania. There's more diversity in Asia, where lung cancer ranks first in China and North Korea, liver in Laos and Mongolia and thyroid in South Korea.

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