World Cancer Day: Most common cancers & those with highest survival rates

February 4 is World Cancer Day - aimed at sparking conversations and deeper dialogue about the illness. The initiative, led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), runs around the world in a bid to cut cancer - and the causes of cancer.

In 2024, the day is issuing a call to action, urging people to demand their governments promote health equity, fighting cancer across society with the release of the Union's annual Equity Report.

President of UICC, Professor Jeff Dunn, said: "UICC’s World Cancer Day 2024 Equity Report shines a light on the barriers to care and significant disparities in outcomes due to prejudices and assumptions based on socioeconomic status, gender and other cultural norms, race and ethnicity, age, geographical location, sexual orientation and disability. More importantly, it provides local insights into the challenges we face in diverse regions, guiding us toward targeted solutions."

The report calls on governments to take a range of steps, including regulating the production, sales and marketing of carcinogenic products, and to implement routine screening programmes for common cancers.

Ulrika Årehed Kågström, secretary general of the Swedish Cancer Society and president-elect of UICC, said: "For people with low socioeconomic status, the risk of dying from cancer is generally notably higher compared to those who belong to more privileged groups. People with higher education generally spend more time with healthcare professionals to ask questions when seeking care than those with only primary school education, who are more likely to refrain from care-seeking in the first place. Socioeconomic status can also influence the degree to which a cancer patient is likely to follow through on treatment."

Around 10 million people die each year due to cancer, with more than 40% of cancer deaths said to be preventable as they linked to risk factors such as smoking, drinking alcohol, poor diet and a lack of physical activity.

Most common cancers

Data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) from 2020 revealed the most common cancers in new cases. They were: Breast (2.26m), lung (2.21m), colon and rectum (1.93m), prostate (1.41m), skin (1.2m) and stomach (1.09m).

The most common causes of cancer deaths were: Lung (1.8m), colon and rectum (916,000), liver (830,000), stomach (769,000) and breast (685,000).

Each year, the WHO says around 400,000 children develop cancer.

Which cancers are most successfully treated?

The WHO says some of the most common cancer types - such as breast cancer, cervical cancer, oral cancer, and colorectal cancer - have high cure probabilities when detected early.

Others, including testicular seminoma and different types of leukaemia and lymphoma in children, also have high cure rates if appropriate treatment is provided, even when cancerous cells are present in other areas of the body.

However, the successful treatment of cancer varies significantly depending on where you are. Comprehensive treatment is reportedly available in more than 90% of high-income countries but less than 15% of low-income countries.

To measure outcomes in treatments for different types of cancer, researchers in the United States used the five-year survival rate. The five most successfully treated cancers - if detected early - were: Breast (99%-100% five-year survival rate), prostate (99%), testicular (99%), thyroid (98%), melanoma (99%).

These success rates are for cancers detected early, in stages one or two.