WHO calls for urgent action as new cancer cases are projected to nearly double by 2050

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1. Cancer cases worldwide are expected to soar in the coming decades, a report finds. Here's why.

Cancer cases worldwide are expected to soar in the coming decades, a report finds. Here’s why.

The World Health Organization tempered optimism about improvements in cancer treatment and said global health care inequities are driving more cases and deaths.

July 8, 2026 at 3:43 p.m. EDT Yesterday at 3:43 p.m. EDT


A view of mammogram imagery. One in five people will develop cancer in their lifetime, according to the World Health Organization. (Brett Coomer/Getty Images)

By Daniel Wu

Annual cancer cases are projected to rise considerably worldwide by 2050, according to a World Health Organization report on cancer published Wednesday. With its assessment, the United Nations body tempered optimism about improvements in cancer surveillance and treatment and warned that global health care inequities are driving further cases and deaths.

Around 20.6 million people were diagnosed with cancer in 2024, according to the findings. That number could reach 35 million a year by 2050.

The new cases will disproportionately appear in lower-income countries with poorer access to cancer surveillance and treatment, according to the report.

“Far too many people are still being left behind,” André Ilbawi, the team lead for cancer control at the WHO, said at a news conference about the study this week. … Here are some of the report’s key findings:

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