Cancer in Africa 2012

Noncommunicable diseases, and especially cancers, are recognized as an increasing problem for low and middle income countries. Effective control programs require adequate information on the size, nature, and evolution of the health problem that they pose.

We present estimates of the incidence and mortality of cancer in Africa in 2012, derived from "GLOBOCAN 2012," published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

There were 847,000 new cancer cases (6% of the world total) and 591,000 deaths (7.2% of the world total) in the 54 countries of Africa in 2012, with about three quarters in the 47 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. While the cancer profiles often differ markedly between regions, the most common cancers in men were prostate (16.4% of new cancers), liver (10.7%), and Kaposi sarcoma (6.7%); in women, by far the most important are cancers of the breast (27.6% of all cancers) and cervix uteri (20.4%).

There are still deficiencies in surveillance systems, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and, specifically, of their most vital component, population-based cancer registries. With the number of annual cancer cases and deaths likely to increase by at least 70% by 2030, there is a pressing need for a coordinated approach to improving the extent and quality of services for cancer control in Africa, and better surveillance systems with which they can be planned and monitored.

The results are the best data currently available and provide a reasonable appraisal of the cancer situation in Africa.