Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries

Freddie Bray; Mathieu Laversanne; Hyuna Sung; Jacques Ferlay; Rebecca L. Siegel

doi:10.3322/caac.21834

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Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries

Freddie Bray, Mathieu Laversanne, Hyuna Sung, Jacques Ferlay, Rebecca L. Siegel, Isabelle Soerjomataram, Ahmedin Jemal

Wiley (2024) • Volume 74, Issue 3, Pages 229-263

SynthesisCrossSectionalPDF AvailableGrade Eligible

Overall Assessment

Strong Methodological Quality

Assessment created by PaperScorers Medical AI v0.1.0 on Dec 14, 2025

B+

80/100

Key Takeaways

•2022 burden: ~20.0m new cases and 9.7m deaths globally.
•Lung and female breast are the top incident cancers; lung leads deaths.
•Large regional and HDI gradients; Asia bears ~49% of cases.
•Demography alone projects ~35.3m incident cases by 2050 (+77%).

Conclusion

Robust, standardised surveillance shows substantial and growing global cancer burden; prevention and control investments are urgent, especially in lower-HDI settings.

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Quality Dimensions

Bias & Integrity

COI handling, outcome switching, selective reporting

A90

Methods Rigour

Protocol clarity, sampling, controls

B78

External Validity

Generalisability, setting, population

A-85

Transparency & Reproducibility

Data/code/materials availability, preregistration

C+65

Significance & Novelty

Contribution vs prior art; context if known

A-88

Statistical Validity

Models, assumptions, multiplicity, CI priority

C+68

Integrity & Transparency

Integrity checks

P-hacking risk?

?

None suspected

Signs of selective hypothesis testing or analysis choices that could inflate false positive rates.

Outcome switching?

?

None suspected

Evidence that primary outcomes were changed during or after the study, potentially distorting results.

Conflict of interest?

?

None suspected

Authors have financial or other relationships that could bias research findings.

Data integrity issues?

?

None suspected

Concerns about the accuracy, completeness, or authenticity of the reported data.

Open science signals

Research data

?

Open access

Raw data used in the analyses is publicly available or accessible upon request.

Analysis code

?

Not shared

Code or scripts used to analyze the data are shared for reproducibility.

Study materials

?

Not applicable

Protocols, questionnaires, and other materials are publicly available.

Premise

Primary Research Question

What is the global cancer incidence and mortality burden in 2022 by cancer, sex, and region, and what is the projected 2050 burden?

Hypothesis is Falsifiable

—Not specified

Descriptive surveillance, not hypothesis testing.

PICO Framework

Population✓Yes

Populations of 185 countries; 18 age groups.

Intervention—Not specified

No intervention.

Comparison✓Yes

Age-standardised rates using Segi–Doll world standard.

Outcome✓Yes

Incidence, mortality, cumulative risk; projections to 2050.

Literature Positioning

Literature Review Balanced

Well covered

Extensive referencing to prior global stats and determinants.

Evidence: Refs 5–9, 45–188

Research Gap Clearly Stated

Well covered

Update 2022 burden, regional patterns, and 2050 projections.

Evidence: Intro, p. 230

Stated Contribution Clear

Well covered

Presents updated GLOBOCAN estimates, HDI patterns, and projections.

Evidence: Abstract, p. 229

Study Provenance

Peer reviewed venueGrant funding disclosedNo conflicts declared6 affiliations listed

Authors & Affiliations

IARC, Lyon, France; American Cancer Society, Atlanta, USA (p. 229).

Funding Statement

International Agency for Research on Cancer/World Health Organization (p. 229).

Conflicts of Interest

Authors disclose no conflicts; ACS employment noted; views are authors’ own (p. 257).

Peer Review

✓CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians; Received/Accepted 12 Feb 2024.

Evidence: p. 229

Methodological Assessment

Public Health SurveillanceSurveillance

17 applicable checklist items.

Yes 12 · No 2 · Unclear 3

Data Sources & Coverage

✓

Data Sources Enumerated

Data sources enumerated: registries, vital stats, CI5, national programs.

Evidence: Data sources & methods, p. 230–233

✓

Geographic Coverage Adequate

Global coverage: 185 countries; 20 regions; HDI tiers.

Evidence: Abstract; Fig. 1; Methods p. 230–231

✓

Denominator Population Stated

Denominators from UN Population Division; population sizes shown.

Evidence: Fig. 1; Methods, p. 231

?

Coverage Completeness Reported

Representativeness/quality noted; no quantitative completeness rates.

Evidence: Methods p. 230–231

Definitions & Standards

✓

Case Definitions Standardised

ICD-10 site coding detailed for 36 cancers.

Evidence: Methods, p. 230–233

✓

Mortality Coding Consistent

Mortality from vital registration; modeled mortality-to-incidence ratios described.

Evidence: Methods, p. 230–231

✓

Subgroup Definitions Clear

Subgroups: 20 regions, HDI tiers, sex; China/India separately.

Evidence: Fig. 1; Methods p. 231

Analysis & Methods

✓

Age Standardisation Applied

ASRs per 100k using Segi–Doll world standard; cumulative risk to 75.

Evidence: Methods, p. 231

?

Reporting Delay Adjustment

No explicit reporting delay adjustments; short-term predictions used.

Evidence: Methods, p. 230–231

✗

Uncertainty Intervals Reported

No CIs or uncertainty intervals for rates or projections.

Evidence: Tables/Figs throughout; Fig. 21

✓

Comparability Over Time Addressed

Comparability, data quality, and COVID-era caveats discussed.

Evidence: Strengths & weaknesses, p. 256

✓

Projection Method Described

Projection assumes constant rates with demographic change to 2050.

Evidence: Methods p. 231; Fig. 21 p. 256

Transparency & Validation

✓

Data Access Statement

Data available via Global Cancer Observatory 'Cancer Today'.

Evidence: p. 230; Ref. 4

✗

Code/Workflow Available

No public code or workflows provided.

Evidence: No code links found

✓

QA/QC Procedures Described

CI5 inclusion criteria and evaluation of registry data described.

Evidence: p. 256–257; Ref. 187

?

External Validation/Comparison

No formal external validation against independent sources.

Evidence: Strengths & weaknesses, p. 256

✓

Bias & Limitations Discussed

Limitations and pandemic impacts discussed; modelling caveats noted.

Evidence: Strengths & weaknesses, p. 256

Modules without applicable checklist items (9)

These designs were fully marked as not applicable but remain available for reference.

Abstract

This article presents global cancer statistics by world region for the year 2022 based on updated estimates from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). There were close to 20 million new cases of cancer in the year 2022 (including nonmelanoma skin cancers [NMSCs]) alongside 9.7 million deaths from cancer (including NMSC). The estimates suggest that approximately one in five men or women develop cancer in a lifetime, whereas around one in nine men and one in 12 women die from it. Lung cancer was the most frequently diagnosed cancer in 2022, responsible for almost 2.5 million new cases, or one in eight cancers worldwide (12.4% of all cancers globally), followed by cancers of the female breast (11.6%), colorectum (9.6%), prostate (7.3%), and stomach (4.9%). Lung cancer was also the leading cause of cancer death, with an estimated 1.8 million deaths (18.7%), followed by colorectal (9.3%), liver (7.8%), female breast (6.9%), and stomach (6.8%) cancers. Breast cancer and lung cancer were the most frequent cancers in women and men, respectively (both cases and deaths). Incidence rates (including NMSC) varied from four‐fold to five‐fold across world regions, from over 500 in Australia/New Zealand (507.9 per 100,000) to under 100 in Western Africa (97.1 per 100,000) among men, and from over 400 in Australia/New Zealand (410.5 per 100,000) to close to 100 in South‐Central Asia (103.3 per 100,000) among women. The authors examine the geographic variability across 20 world regions for the 10 leading cancer types, discussing recent trends, the underlying determinants, and the prospects for global cancer prevention and control. With demographics‐based predictions indicating that the number of new cases of cancer will reach 35 million by 2050, investments in prevention, including the targeting of key risk factors for cancer (including smoking, overweight and obesity, and infection), could avert millions of future cancer diagnoses and save many lives worldwide, bringing huge economic as well as societal dividends to countries over the forthcoming decades.

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Study Overview

Study Design

Cross Sectional

Primary classification used to evaluate this research.

Population

Global population; 185 countries; 36 cancers using cancer registries and vital statistics (GLOBOCAN 2022).

Brief summary of who or what was studied.

Pre-registration

Not registered

Indicates whether the protocol or trial was registered before data collection.

Reviewer Notes

Cross-sectional global surveillance estimates with modelling; no individual-level analysis or intervention.

Publication Details

DOI

10.3322/caac.21834

Published

April 4, 2024

Citations

17361 citations

FWCI

9230.42

External Resources

DOI Link OpenAlex

Disclaimer: This assessment is generated by AI and should not be the sole basis for clinical or research decisions. Always review the original paper and consult with domain experts.

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