An American Cancer Society study has found that rates of cancer among men are set to skyrocket in the next few decades.

The study declared that “men face higher rates of cancer and cancer-related deaths than women” after it analysed 30 cancer types among men.

Overall, between 2022 and 2050, cancer cases in men are projected to increase from 10.3 million to 19 million. That’s an 84 per cent increase.

Deaths are projected to increase from 5.4 million to 10.5 million, a 93 per cent.

Among men aged 65-plus years, and for countries with low and medium HDI (human development index), deaths will more than double.

This is likely due to various factors including:

• Lower participation in cancer prevention activities
• Underuse of screening and treatment options
• Increased exposure to cancer risk factors, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and occupational exposure to carcinogens
• Biological differences.

The overall picture

Overall, more than 35 million new cancer cases are predicted in 2050, according to the World Health Organisation.

That’s a 77 per cent increase from the estimated 20 million cases – and 9.7 million deaths – in 2022.

In 2020, there were 18 million cases.

These numbers come from WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

Why the growth?

We have an ageing population – and ageing is the No.1 driver of cancer.

The older you get, the more likely you are to get some form of the disease.

But tobacco, alcohol and obesity are key factors behind the growing number of cases.

Air pollution remains a key driver of environmental risk factor – as has been the case before the world started talking about climate change.

A first-world problem

Living in a richer country carries a higher cancer risk.

As WHO reported in February, countries that are high on the Human Development Index “are expected to experience the greatest absolute increase in incidence, with an additional 4.8 million new cases predicted in 2050”.

However, poorer countries are catching up.

The IARC projects a 142 per cent increase in cancer rates for countries with a low-level of development.

A 99 per cent increase is projected for countries with a medium-level of development.

Cancer mortality in low and medium HDI countries cancer mortality is projected to almost double in 2050.

In other words, poorer countries, with less resources to diagnose and treat cancer in good time, see a higher rate of deaths.

In countries with a very high HDI, one in 12 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime – and one in 71 women die of it.

By contrast, in countries with a low HDI: Only one in 27 women is diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, but one in 48 women will die from it.

The cancers most commonly diagnosed in the world two years ago, according to WHO, were:

• Lung cancer: 2.5 million new cases
• Breast cancer: 2.3 million
• Colorectal cancer: 1.9 million
• Prostate cancer: 1.5 million
• Stomach cancer: 970,000.

Australians with cancer

In Australia, in 2022, according to the ABS, about one in 50 people had cancer.

Males were “slightly more likely than females to have cancer” – 2.1 per cent compared to 1.6 per cent.

But, as people age, “this difference between males and females increased”.

One in 10 (11.8 per cent) males aged 75 years and over had cancer, compared to 6.7 per cent of females.

Overall, people aged 75 years and over were more likely than any other age group to have cancer (8.7 per cent).