ISLAMABAD: Cancer rates are set to rise six times faster in women than in men over the next two decades, new data has shown.
Obesity and unhealthy lifestyles are behind an increase cancer risk for both sex, warned Cancer Research UK and women would suffer disproportionately from the rise.
This is because a number of types of cancer linked to being obese only affect women, such as womb cancer, ovarian cancer and postmenopausal breast cancer, The telegraph reported.
Cervical and oral cancers were also found to be on the rise among women.Sir Harpal Kumar, the charity’s chief executive, said the figures showed “the huge challenge we continue to face, both in the UK and worldwide.” More people die from cancer than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis put together, he said.
“With more investment into research, we hope to make big improvements over the next 20 years in diagnosing the disease earlier and improving and developing treatments so that by 2034, three in four people will survive their disease,” said Sir Harpal.
An estimated 4.5 million women and 4.8 million men would be diagnosed with cancer by 2035, according to the organisation, with cancer rates rising by around three percent for women and half a percent for men.
Breast, prostate, lungs and bowel cancer are the most common cancers, accounting for more than half (53 percent) of new cases of cancer each year in the UK.Figures show that cases of breast cancer are expected to rise from 54,833 in 2014 to 71,022 in 2035.
Ovarian cancer cases will jump from 7,367 to 10,500, while lung cancer cases will go up from 21,633 to 29,957.Cancer is a devastating disease and it is concerning that rates are predicted to rise so sharply in women, especially as so many cancer cases could be prevented.
