(NaturalNews) Cancer is currently responsible for 20,000 deaths per day across the world, or 7.6 million people a year, according to a new report published by the American Cancer Society. In addition, 12 million people are diagnosed with some form of cancer every year.
The report, titled "Global Cancer Facts and Figures 2007" is based on data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer and compares the rates of different cancers between the developed and less developed world.
Of the anticipated 7.6 million cancer deaths in 2008, 2.9 million are expected in the developed world, while 4.7 are expected to occur in less developed countries. Approximately 5.4 million new cancer cases are expected in developed countries, and 6.7 million in those less developed.
The report notes that the most common cancers vary between the developed and less developed world. In developed countries, breast, colorectal and lung cancer are the most common forms of the disease in women. While breast cancer is still number one in the less developed world, it is followed by cervical and stomach cancer. Among men, prostate, lung and colorectal cancers are most common in the developed world. In the less developed world, the most common cancers are of the stomach, lungs and liver.
Cancers caused by infection are much more common in the less developed world, accounting for 26 percents of cancers as opposed to 8 percent in the developed world. These infections include the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which can cause stomach cancer, and the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause cervical cancer.
Survival rates also differ, in particular among children. In Europe and North America, 75 percent of children with cancer live at least five years, while in Central America the figure is only 48 to 62 percent.
The report said that cancer rates and mortality are expected to rise in the less developed world as those regions increasingly adopt a lifestyle similar to that of developed nations, including "cigarette smoking, higher consumption of saturated fat and calorie-dense foods, and reduced physical activity."