Global cancer cases are predicted to rise by more than 75% by 2050, according to the World Health Organization.

Latest figures from the WHO’s cancer arm, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, makes plain the growing burden of cancer, rising from 14.1 million new cases and 8.2 million deaths worldwide in 2012 to 20 million new cases and 9.7 million deaths a decade later. The IARC predicts there will be more than 35 million new cancer cases by 2050, an increase of 77% from 2022 levels, and that deaths will have nearly doubled since 2012 to more than 18 million.

The IARC said tobacco use, alcohol consumption and obesity were key factors behind the increasing incidence of cancer, as well as population ageing and growth.

It predicts that the highest-income countries will record an additional 4.8 million new cases in 2050, but lower-income countries will experience the biggest proportional increases in cases. Cancer mortality in the latter countries is projected to almost double.

Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide, accounting for 12.4% of new cases and 18.7% of deaths. Female breast cancer is the second most common form, but while it accounts for 11.6% of cases, it causes fewer than 7% of deaths. Other major causes of death include bowel liver and stomach cancer.