Geneva - Breast cancer has overtaken lung cancer as the most common form of the disease, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday.
"For the first time, breast cancer now constitutes the most commonly occurring cancer globally," Andre Ilbawi, a cancer specialist at the WHO, told a UN briefing ahead of World Cancer Day on Thursday.
Lung cancer was the most common type for the last two decades, but is now in second place, ahead of colorectal cancer, which is the third most widespread, Ilbawi said.
Ilbawi noted that obesity in women was a common risk factor in breast cancer, and is also driving overall cancer numbers.
As the global population grows and life expectancy increases, cancer is expected to become more common, rising to about 30 million new cases per year in 2040 from 19.3 million in2020, Ilbawi said.
The coronavirus pandemic is disrupting cancer treatment in about half the countries it surveyed, Ilbawi said, pointing to delays in diagnosis, healthcare workers being under extreme stress and research being impacted.
According to the Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa), breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women in South Africa, affecting one in 28 women. In urban communities the incidence is as high as one in eight according to the National Health Laboratory statistics.
With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, experts urge women to regularly self-examine and have an annual mammogram from the age of 40.
Early screening and detection of the disease dramatically improve women’s chances of survival and reduces the need for aggressive and invasive treatment.