Global cancer burden rises to 14.1 million new cases in 2012: Marked increase in breast cancers must be addressed

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization, today released the latest data on cancer incidence, mortality, and prevalence worldwide.1 The new version of IARC’s online database, GLOBOCAN 2012, provides the most recent estimates for 28 types of cancer in 184 countries worldwide and offers a comprehensive overview of the global cancer burden. 

GLOBOCAN 2012 reveals striking patterns of cancer in women and highlights that priority should be given to cancer prevention and control measures for breast and cervical cancers globally. 

Global burden rises to 14.1 million new cases and 8.2 million cancer deaths in 2012 

According to GLOBOCAN 2012, an estimated 14.1 million new cancer cases and 8.2 million cancer-related deaths occurred in 2012, compared with 12.7 million and 7.6 million, respectively, in 2008. Prevalence estimates for 2012 show that there were 32.6 million people (over the age of 15 years) alive who had had a cancer diagnosed in the previous five years. 

The most commonly diagnosed cancers worldwide were those of the lung (1.8 million, 13.0% of the total), breast (1.7 million, 11.9%), and colorectum (1.4 million, 9.7%). The most common causes of cancer death were cancers of the lung (1.6 million, 19.4% of the total), liver (0.8 million, 9.1%), and stomach (0.7 million, 8.8%). 

Projections based on the GLOBOCAN 2012 estimates predict a substantive increase to 19.3 million new cancer cases per year by 2025, due to growth and ageing of the global population. More than half of all cancers (56.8%) and cancer deaths (64.9%) in 2012 occurred in less developed regions of the world, and these proportions will increase further by 2025. 

Sharp rise in breast cancer worldwide 

In 2012, 1.7 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer and there were 6.3 million women alive who had been diagnosed with breast cancer in the previous five years. Since the 2008 estimates, breast cancer incidence has increased by more than 20%, while mortality has increased by 14%. Breast cancer is also the most common cause of cancer death among women (522 000 deaths in 2012) and the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in 140 of 184 countries worldwide. It now represents one in four of all cancers in women. 

“Breast cancer is also a leading cause of cancer death in the less developed countries of the world. This is partly because a shift in lifestyles is causing an increase in incidence, and partly 

Found on

Related articles

• Cancer deaths rise to 8.2 million, breast cancer sharply up (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• Reset the Clock on Cancer: Tell the Senate to Fix Our Chemical Laws (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• The Chemical Safety Improvement Act Falls Short: Open Letter to Congress (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• Chemical at Goodyear Plant Linked to Bladder Cancer in 50 Workers (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• Rare Cancer Treatments, Cleared by F.D.A. but Not Subject to Scrutiny (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• After Brief Halt, F.D.A. Allows Sales of Drug for Cancer to Resume (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• H.R. 982 is anti-victim, anti-veteran and anti-privacy (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)

New Biomarkers Discovered for Mesothelioma May Lead to Early Detection

Using a novel aptamer-based proteomics array technology, researchers and collaborators have identified biomarkers and protein signatures that are hallmarks of cancer at an early stage for two of the most aggressive and deadly forms of cancer — pancreatic and mesothelioma.

This technology would enable better clinical diagnosis at an earlier stage and may provide insight into new therapeutic targets, said Rachel Ostroff, Ph.D., clinical research director of Somalogic Inc.

“Currently these cancers are detected at an advanced stage, where the possibility of cure is minimal,” said Ostroff. “Detection of these aggressive cancers at an earlier stage would identify patients for early treatment, which may improve their survival and quality of life.”

Ostroff presented results of this ongoing study at the Fourth AACR International Conference on Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development.

Discovered about 20 years ago, aptamers are nucleic acid molecules that bind to specific proteins. SomaLogic has developed the next generation of aptamers, SOMAmers (Slow Off-rate Modified Aptamers), which have superior affinity and specificity. SOMAmers enable a highly multiplexed proteomic platform used for simultaneous identification and quantification of target proteins in complex biological samples.

The goal of this study was to determine if this proteomics technology could identify blood-based biomarkers for pancreatic cancer or mesothelioma in people diagnosed, but not yet treated, for cancer.

Participants in the control group had symptoms that resembled these cancers, but were benign (i.e. pancreatitis or lung fibrosis).

Ostroff and colleagues tested blood from participants to discover the biomarkers specific to those with cancer, which would then be used to identify these diseases at an early stage, where the potential for effective treatment is much higher than in disease that has progressed.

For both forms of cancer, the researchers discovered biomarkers and developed a signature with high accuracy for detection of each form of cancer. Equally important, they found high specificity, meaning few people without disease will be incorrectly diagnosed and thus avoid unnecessary tests or treatments.

“Validation studies are underway, which we hope will lead to the development of diagnostic tests that hold clinical benefits for patients,” Ostroff said.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. Mesothelioma is an asbestos-related pulmonary cancer that causes an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 deaths per year worldwide.

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered asbestos related disease.

Related articles

• Tests may detect mesothelioma, pancreatic cancer (reuters.com)
• Discovery Of New Biomarkers For Pancreatic Cancer And Mesothelioma (medicalnewstoday.com)
• c-Met may be a biomarker for metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (physorg.com)
• New biomarkers discovered for pancreatic cancer and mesothelioma (eurekalert.org)