Report:12 million new cancer cases in 2007

Atlanta-- A report by the American Cancer Society estimates 12 million new cancer cases will be reported worldwide by the end of this year.

An estimated 7.6 million people will die of cancer in 2007, the report said.

The group estimates 5.4 million of those cancers and 2.9 million deaths will occur in economically developed countries while 6.7 million cases and 4.7 million deaths will occur in economically developing countries, the ACS said Wednesday in a release.

The projections were based on incidence and mortality data compiled by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

The three most commonly diagnosed cancers in men are prostate, lung and colorectal cancer. Among women, they are breast, colorectal and lung cancer.

"The burden of cancer is increasing in developing countries as deaths from infectious diseases and childhood mortality decline and more people live to older ages when cancer most frequently occurs," American Cancer Society epidemiologist Ahmedin Jemal said in a statement. "This cancer burden is also increasing as people in the developing countries adopt western lifestyles such as cigarette smoking, higher consumption of saturated fat and calorie-dense foods, and reduced physical activity."

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.