Forecasted number of deaths from cancer worldwide from 2022 to 2050

In 2022, there were over 9.7 million cancer deaths worldwide. It is projected that the number of deaths due to cancer worldwide will increase to almost 18.5 million by 2050. The most prevalent type of cancer in 2022 was breast cancer with around 48 prevalent cases per 100,000 population. However, lung cancer is by far the deadliest type of cancer.

Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. In 2022, around 1.82 million cancer deaths, or 19 percent of all cancer deaths worldwide were attributed to lung cancer. Long-term smoking is known to be a major cause of lung cancer. People who never quit smoking are 24 percent more likely to die before age 65 than people who never smoked in their lives.

Treatment

In 2023, it was estimated that there were around 4,492 cancer immunotherapy products in R&D phases, as well as another 3,622 other cancer products in the R&D product pipeline. In the same year, it was projected that there were 965 active drugs for breast cancer, as well as 925 active drugs for non-small cell lung cancer.