Archiv für chirurgische Onkologie

Cancer as an environmental disease: Facts and figures

Abstract

Dominique Belpomme

With a growing estimated 18.1 million new cancer cases and 9.6 million cancer deaths in 2018, cancer remains an uncontrolled worldwide plague. In both sexes combined, lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of death worldwide, closely followed by female breast cancer, prostate cancer and colorectal cancer for incidence, and colorectal cancer, stomach cancer and liver cancer for cancer mortality. Among male’s lung cancer is both the most frequent cancer and the leading cause of cancer death; while among females’ breast cancer is both the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths. Classically tobacco smoking, alcoholism and overweight/ obesity are cancer risk factors thought to be mainly involved in cancer occurrence and so be fought with preventive public health measures that hopefully would eradicate the disease.