Global research shows that cancer deaths among men will increase by as much as 93 percent by 2050, while the number of younger people affected by the disease continues to rise.
Analysis shows that the number of cancer cases in men will increase by 84 percent by 2050. During that period, the number of deaths from the disease will almost double.
Experts warn that the global burden of cancer in men will increase rapidly in the coming decades, according to a study that included data from 185 countries.
If current trends continue, it is expected that 19 million cases of cancer will be diagnosed in 2050, up from 10 million in 2022.
Cancer deaths are predicted to increase further, from 5 million in 2022 to over 10 million in 2050, an increase of 93 percent.
While older men are expected to account for the majority of deaths, linked to the ageing of the population, experts also predict that the number of young men dying from the disease will increase alarmingly in the coming years.
Both actor Chadwick Boseman and singer Tom Parker were killed by early-stage cancer, medically defined as a case of the disease affecting someone under the age of 50.
In 2008, Star Wars star Ewan McGregor (left) revealed he had had a cancerous mole removed from just below his right eye, aged 37. Dexter star Michael C Hall (right) is an early cancer survivor, diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the age of 38, now 53
Scientists led by the University of Queensland in Australia say that men are more likely to get cancer and die from it, and if the causes are not addressed, the problem will only get worse.
Non-melanoma skin cancer is expected to show the largest global increase in cases, with diagnoses increasing by nearly 122 percent to more than one million cases globally.
Mesothelioma, a lung cancer most commonly associated with asbestos exposure, and bladder cancer are also expected to increase by more than 100 percent in men.
Prostate cancer is expected to cause the largest increase in deaths, with the number of deaths from the disease increasing by 136 percent worldwide to nearly one million by 2050.
Similar explosive growth is also predicted for deaths from bladder cancer and non-melanoma skin cancer.
However, lung cancer will still be responsible for the largest total death toll in the coming decades, with more than 2 million people dying worldwide in 2050. That is almost 95 percent more than current figures.
While cancer deaths among men aged 65 and older were predicted to increase significantly, rising by more than 124 percent by 2050, a worrying increase in the disease was also observed among younger men.
Experts have estimated that cancer deaths among younger men aged 15 to 64 will increase by nearly 40 percent, to almost 3 million deaths by 2050.
Experts have previously warned of a mysterious ‘epidemic’ of cancer cases among people under the age of 50.
However, the figures for Europe and America were well below the global total, with only an increase of almost 2 percent and a 32 percent increase in cancer cases in young men respectively.
Publish their findings in the journal Cancer According to the authors, men worldwide face a higher risk of cancer and cancer deaths than women. This is due to several factors.
Examples include lower participation in cancer prevention activities, under-screening in men, greater exposure to cancer risks such as higher overall smoking and drinking rates, higher levels of occupational exposure to carcinogens, and finally, innate biological differences compared to women.
This trend in the gender gap has been observed in several studies.
British experts previously discovered that men are 60 percent more likely to develop cancer than women and 70 percent more likely to die from it.
These are figures that specifically relate to cancers that affect both men and women, and not to sex-linked cancers such as testicular or ovarian cancer.
In addition to the factors mentioned above, experts have also noted that men are more likely than women to ignore potential cancer symptoms for longer and are less likely to seek help from a primary care physician. This is a factor that may contribute to poorer cancer outcomes.
Lead author of the latest research, Dr Habtamu Mellie Bizuayehu from Queensland, said their findings show action needs to be taken now to reduce the number of men developing and dying from cancer in the coming decades.
“National and international collaboration, as well as a coordinated multisectoral approach, are essential to improve current cancer outcomes and reverse the projected increase in cancer burden by 2050,” he said.
‘Implementing and expanding universal health care, expanding health infrastructure, and establishing publicly funded medical schools and scholarships to train medical and public health personnel can improve cancer care and equity.’
The study data, broken down by World Health Organization (WHO) regions, shows that in Europe, which includes the UK, the number of cancer cases in men is expected to increase by 40 per cent to almost 4 million a year by 2050.
It is estimated that the number of annual deaths from the disease in this region will increase by 50 percent during this period, to almost 2 million.
Data for the Americas shows that cases in this WHO region will rise by 79 percent to 4 million cases, and deaths will rise by almost 90 percent to more than 1 million.
Researchers also highlighted that male cancers hit some parts of the world harder than others.
In the WHO Africa region, for example, cancer cases and deaths among men are predicted to increase by more than 150 percent.
According to Dr Bizuayehu, this shows the importance of improving cancer outcomes in poorer countries.
“The focus should be on countries with low and medium human development indexes, where the need for cancer care is high despite the significant cancer burden,” he said.
The authors noted that their study may have been influenced by the different data quality issues for cancer diagnoses and deaths in different countries
The WHO data on which the new analysis of cancer in men is based was also used earlier this year to show that cancer deaths in the UK are set to rise by more than 50 per cent by 2050.
Experts said a growing and ageing population, combined with unhealthy lifestyles, would lead to an increase in the number of cases.
That country-specific analysis found that the UK will see tens of thousands more cases and deaths each year than previously estimated.
It also emerged that the British are one of the highest risk groups for cancer on the continent, but they fare better than the French and the Danes.
However, the study also showed that patients in the UK are more likely to die from cancer than people in the US.
Data from Cancer Research UK shows that cancer is particularly prevalent in young people, with the incidence of the disease among younger Britons (aged 25-49) now standing at just over 162 cases per 100,000 people per year.
That is 22 percent higher than in the 1990s.
Experts say the increase cannot simply be dismissed as a result of better cancer detection methods.
By comparison, among people aged 75 and over, who account for around half of all cancer cases in the UK, the rate rose by only 9 per cent over the same period.
Cases in people under 50 are still statistically rare, accounting for just one in ten cases of the disease in the UK.
However, the speed at which the increase is taking place and the fact that scientists have so far been unable to find a cause has experts concerned.
Oncologist Dr Shivan Sivakumar from the University of Birmingham previously described the situation as an ‘epidemic’.
He said: ‘There is currently an epidemic of cancer in young people (under 50 years of age).
‘The cause of this is unknown, but we are seeing that more and more patients are developing abdominal cancer.’
A study published in the British medical journal Last year, it was found that the number of premature cancer cases worldwide increased by 79 percent between 1990 and 2019.
The experts also predicted that cancer cases among young people will continue to increase, by another 31 percent by 2030.
On average, more than 52,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, making it the most common cancer in men. Around 12,000 men die from the disease each year — the equivalent of one every 45 minutes
WHO data shows Australia has the highest rate of premature cancer diagnoses in the world, with a rate of 135 per 100,000 people in 2022.
New Zealand came in second, with 119 cases per 100,000 population among young people.
By comparison, the UK and the US are much lower in the world rankings, but still high, at 28th and 6th respectively.
Male cPublic figures have also been implicated in the rising number of cancer cases among young people, medically known as ‘early-onset’ cancer, where the disease affects people under the age of 50.
Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman is one of them. He died at the age of 43 from colon cancer.
Star Wars actor Ewan McGregor, The Wanted singer Tom Parker and Dexter star Michael C Hall are other examples of male celebrities who suffered from cancer before the age of 50.
