MORE EDUCATION AND AWARENESS IS NEEDED TO PREVENT GLOBAL RISE IN RATES OF ILLNESS by SIR HARPAL KUMARFormer chief executive ofCancer Research UK CANCER is a challenge for us all. And now, more than ever before, tackling the disease has become a global public health issue as more people live longer. Cancer rates among Asian people, both in the UK and in Asia, are partly explained by differences in life expectancy and other factors such as smoking, obesity and infection rates. At the moment, cancer rates are lower in countries like India, compared to western economies like the UK, and the most common types of cancer people develop also differ. But as emerging economies undergo radical social and economic changes, their lifestyles become more westernised and we expect to see an increase in cancer rates. The greatest impact on the number of people diagnosed with cancer in the years to come will be ageing populations. Cancer is primarily a disease of older people, so as more people live longer, more people will get cancer. In the UK, the number of cancer cases is expected to rise from more than 352,000 a year in 2014 up to 515,000 by 2035. But while we can’t do anything about age, we can do something to reduce the risk of cancer. Thanks to a landmark study led by Cancer Research UK scientists, we know that around four in 10 cancer cases in the UK can be prevented. These latest UK figures don’t have an automatic parallel with other countries, because of lifestyle differences among different populations, but they can offer a glimpse at what may be to come for countries undergoing transitions. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the four most common cancer types in east and central Asia are those of the lungs,…
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