Global cancer statistics for the most common cancers in the world.
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Find information about world cancer statistics for the most common types of cancer in 2022, the latest year that data has been made available by GLOBOCAN.
Including non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) there were 19,976,499 cancer cases in 2022.
When NMSC was excluded, this number dropped to 18,741,966 cancer cases around the world in 2022. Of these, 9,566,825 were in men and 9,175,141 in women. The most common cancers globally are listed in the tables below.
Age-standardised rates (ASR) are a summary measure of the rate of disease that a population would have if it had a standard age structure. Standardisation is necessary when comparing populations that differ with respect to age because age has a powerful influence on the risk of developing/dying from cancer.
It is important to note that some countries have a high ASR but a low total number of cases, while other have a low ASR but a high number of cases. This is because ASRs are reported per 100,000 people. So, for example, an ASR of 10 in a population of 100,000 = 10 cases of cancer, but an ASR of 1 in a population of 10 million = 100 cases.
With this growing global burden, prevention of cancer is one of the most significant public health challenges of the 21st century. Our Cancer Prevention Recommendations work together as an overall way of living healthily to prevent cancer through changing dietary patterns, reducing alcohol consumption, increasing physical activity, and achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight.
As well as action by individuals, achieving healthy patterns of diet and sustained physical activity over the life course requires concerted and integrated action from all sectors of society, including civil society, private sector, and health and other professions.
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Global cancer incidence: both sexes
Trachea, bronchus and lung, followed by breast, were the most common cancers worldwide. Cancers of the colorectum were the third most common.
| Rank | Cancer | New cases (2022) | ASR |
|---|---|---|---|
| All cancers incl. non-melanoma skin cancer | 19,976,499 | 196.9 | |
| All cancers excl. non-melanoma skin cancer | 18,741,966 | 186.5 | |
| 1 | Trachea, bronchus and lung | 2,480,675 | 23.6 |
| 2 | Breast | 2,296,840 | 46.8 |
| 3 | Colorectum | 1,926,425 | 18.4 |
| 4 | Prostate | 1,467,854 | 29.4 |
| 5 | Stomach | 968,784 | 9.2 |
| 6 | Liver and intrahepatic bile ducts | 866,136 | 8.6 |
| 7 | Thyroid | 821,214 | 9.1 |
| 8 | Cervix uteri | 662,301 | 14.1 |
| 9 | Bladder | 614,298 | 5.6 |
| 10 | Non-Hodgkin lymphoma | 553,389 | 5.6 |
| 11 | Oesophagus | 511,054 | 5.0 |
| 12 | Pancreas | 510,992 | 4.7 |
| 13 | Leukaemia | 487,294 | 5.3 |
| 14 | Kidney | 434,840 | 8.4 |
| 15 | Corpus uteri | 420,368 | 8.4 |
| 16 | Lip, oral cavity | 389,846 | 4.0 |
| 17 | Melanoma of skin | 331,722 | 3.2 |
| 18 | Ovary | 324,603 | 6.7 |
| 19 | Brain, central nervous system | 321,731 | 3.5 |
| 20 | Larynx | 189,191 | 1.9 |
| 21 | Multiple myeloma | 187,952 | 1.8 |
| 22 | Gallbladder | 122,491 | 1.2 |
| 23 | Nasopharynx | 120,434 | 1.3 |
| 24 | Oropharynx | 106,400 | 1.1 |
| 25 | Hypopharynx | 86,257 | 0.89 |
| 26 | Hodgkin lymphoma | 82,469 | 0.95 |
| 27 | Testis | 72,040 | 1.7 |
| 28 | Salivary glands | 55,083 | 0.56 |
| 29 | Vulva | 47,336 | 0.83 |
| 30 | Penis | 37,700 | 0.79 |
| 31 | Kaposi sarcoma | 35,813 | 0.41 |
| 32 | Mesothelioma | 30,633 | 0.28 |
| 33 | Vagina | 18,819 | 0.36 |
Global cancer incidence in men
Trachea, bronchus and lung, as well as prostate, were the most common cancers worldwide. Cancers of the colorectum were the third most common.
| Rank | Cancer | New cases (2022) | ASR |
|---|---|---|---|
| All cancers incl. non-melanoma skin cancer | 10,311,610 | 212.6 | |
| All cancers excl. non-melanoma skin cancer | 9,566,825 | 198.6 | |
| 1 | Trachea, bronchus and lung | 1,572,045 | 32.1 |
| 2 | Prostate | 1,467,854 | 29.4 |
| 3 | Colorectal | 1,069,446 | 21.9 |
| 4 | Stomach | 627,458 | 12.8 |
| 5 | Liver and intrahepatic bile ducts | 600,676 | 12.7 |
| 6 | Bladder | 471,293 | 9.3 |
| 7 | Oesophagus | 365,225 | 7.6 |
| 8 | Non-Hodgkin lymphoma | 311,375 | 6.6 |
| 9 | Leukaemia | 278,120 | 6.2 |
| 10 | Kidney | 277,800 | 5.9 |
| 11 | Pancreas | 269,709 | 5.5 |
| 12 | Lip, oral cavity | 268,999 | 5.8 |
| 13 | Thyroid | 206,485 | 4.6 |
| 14 | Melanoma of skin | 179,953 | 3.7 |
| 15 | Brain, central nervous system | 173,699 | 3.9 |
| 16 | Larynx | 165,794 | 3.5 |
| 17 | Multiple myeloma | 103,805 | 2.1 |
| 18 | Oropharynx | 86,339 | 1.9 |
| 19 | Nasopharynx | 86,289 | 1.9 |
| 20 | Hypopharynx | 72,077 | 1.6 |
| 21 | Testis | 72,040 | 1.7 |
| 22 | Hodgkin lymphoma | 48,774 | 1.1 |
| 23 | Gallbladder | 43,538 | 0.88 |
| 24 | Penis | 37,700 | 0.79 |
| 25 | Salivary glands | 30,963 | 0.66 |
| 26 | Kaposi sarcoma | 24,620 | 0.56 |
| 27 | Mesothelioma | 21,410 | 0.42 |
Global cancer incidence in women
Breast, as well as trachea, bronchus and lung, were the most common cancers worldwide. Cancers of the colorectum were the third most common.
| Rank | Cancer | New cases (2022) | ASR |
|---|---|---|---|
| All cancers incl. non-melanoma skin cancer | 19,976,499 | 196.9 | |
| All cancers excl. non-melanoma skin cancer | 18,741,966 | 186.5 | |
| 1 | Breast | 2,296,840 | 46.8 |
| 2 | Trachea, bronchus and lung | 908,630 | 16.2 |
| 3 | Colorectum | 856,979 | 15.2 |
| 4 | Cervix uteri | 662,301 | 14.1 |
| 5 | Thyroid | 614,729 | 13.6 |
| 6 | Corpus uteri | 420,368 | 8.4 |
| 7 | Stomach | 341,326 | 6.0 |
| 8 | Ovary | 324,603 | 6.7 |
| 9 | Liver and intrahepatic bile ducts | 265,460 | 4.8 |
| 10 | Non-Hodgkin lymphoma | 242,014 | 4.6 |
| 11 | Pancreas | 241,283 | 4.0 |
| 12 | Leukaemia | 209,174 | 4.4 |
| 13 | Kidney | 157,040 | 3.0 |
| 14 | Melanoma of skin | 151,769 | 2.9 |
| 15 | Brain, central nervous system | 148,032 | 3.1 |
| 16 | Oesophagus | 145,829 | 2.6 |
| 17 | Bladder | 143,005 | 2.4 |
| 18 | Lip, oral cavity | 120,847 | 2.3 |
| 19 | Multiple myeloma | 84,147 | 1.5 |
| 20 | Gallbladder | 78,953 | 1.4 |
| 21 | Vulva | 47,336 | 0.83 |
| 22 | Nasopharynx | 34,145 | 0.73 |
| 23 | Hodgkin lymphoma | 33,695 | 0.77 |
| 24 | Salivary glands | 24,120 | 0.49 |
| 25 | Larynx | 23,397 | 0.45 |
| 26 | Oropharynx | 20,061 | 0.39 |
| 27 | Vagina | 18,819 | 0.36 |
| 28 | Hypopharynx | 14,180 | 0.29 |
| 29 | Kaposi sarcoma | 11,193 | 0.26 |
| 30 | Mesothelioma | 9,223 | 0.16 |
Notes
All cancer excludes non-melanoma skin cancer.
The data on this page comes from the Global Cancer Observatory, owned by the World Health Organization/International Agency for Research on Cancer, and is used with permission. The cancer incidence figures and ASRs were compiled using the data available here (last accessed May 2024). For queries about our cancer statistics please email the Research Interpretation team: ri@wcrf.org.
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