According to new estimates from the World Health Organization, reported by CNN, the number of cancer diagnoses worldwide will reach 35 million by 2050 – an increase of 77% from the 20 million cases diagnosed in 2022.

According to The Iran Project,The data, released on Friday by the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, covers 185 countries and 36 types of cancer. Researchers found that lung cancer was the most common form of cancer worldwide in 2022 – with 2.5 million cases, or 12.4 of all cases – followed by breast, colorectal, prostate and stomach cancers in women. Lung cancer also caused the most cancer deaths – 1.8 million, or nearly 19 of all deaths.

The agency also points out that the burden of cancer varies between developed countries. For example, in countries with a very high Human Development Index (a measure of success in health, education and living standards), one in 12 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and one in 71 will die from it. In countries with a low HDI, only one in 27 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, but one in 48 will die, largely due to late diagnosis and lack of access to treatment.