With the number of global cancer cases expected to increase by more than 50 percent by 2030, researchers around the globe have collaborated to create a new tool for global leaders to determine what actions they must take to better control cancer.
The American Cancer Society's newly published second edition of its Cancer Atlas, issued for the first time in both book and interactive website formats, was released at the World Cancer Congress, in partnership with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) within the World Health Organization, and the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC).
A news release notes that the data featured in the book and on the website highlight the complex nature of the global cancer landscape, but also point to strategies that governments can use to reduce their cancer burden.
The annual number of new cancer cases worldwide is predicted to increase from 14 million in 2012 to almost 22 million in 2030 due to population growth and aging alone. But each country has different challenges according to their level of development, demographics, risk factors, and lifestyle patterns.
The goal of the Atlas is to help global health experts determine what actions they must take to better control cancer. "We know more about the burden of cancer-and how to reduce it-than we do about any other noncommunicable disease," said ACS CEO John R. Seffrin, PhD. "Information is a powerful tool in the hands of passionate, dedicated individuals. However, making sense of the mountains of available data can be a challenge."
The Cancer Atlas consolidates research from 184 countries, including the IARC GLOBOCAN database, into a comprehensive guide to the global cancer landscape. The website-http://canceratlas.cancer.org-features an interactive map and tables and chapter pages that organize the information in an accessible way.