In a study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Dee et al identified cancer incidence and mortality rates for 2022 in the countries of southeast Asia.
Study Details
The study involved data from the GLOBOCAN 2022 database developed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer for the 11 countries in Southeast Asia: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.
Key Findings
For all countries in Southeast Asia, the total of all cancers combined was 1,146,810 incident cases for 2022, including 545,725 (47.6%) in men and 601,085 (52.4%) in women. A total of 716,116 deaths occurred, including 385,430 (53.8%) in men and 330,686 (46.2%) in women.
The total cancer age-standardized incidence rates (ASIRs, per 100,000 person-years) were highest in men (235.89) and women (231.01) in Singapore. Age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs, per 100,000 person-years) were greatest in Laos for men (132.91) and Brunei for women (104.20).
Breast cancer was the most common cancer among women in all countries, with the highest ASIR (per 100,000 person years) in Singapore (72.61) and the Philippines (60.34). The highest ASMR was in the Philippines (24.7) followed by Malaysia (19.30) Singapore (17.82), Vietnam (14.67), Indonesia (14.35), and Timor-Leste (10.24).
Among men, lung cancer was the most frequently diagnosed cancer in the Philippines (ASIR = 37.66), followed by Malaysia (23.23), Myanmar (21.59) and Indonesia (21.30). The highest ASMR (per 100,000 person-years) was in the Philippines (33.59), followed by Singapore (31.94), Brunei (23.84), Malaysia (20.42), Myanmar (19.91), Indonesia (18.96) and Timor-Leste (12.95).
Liver cancer had the greatest incidence and mortality in men in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand, and was also the leading cause of death due to cancer among women in Laos (ASMR = 13.49), Cambodia (13.34), and Thailand (12.14).
Cervical cancer was the leading cause of death due to cancer in women in Myanmar (ASMR = 13.37); colorectal cancer was the most common cancer in men in Singapore (ASIR = 39.41) and in Brunei (37.70).
As stated by the investigators, “By 2050, 2.03 million new cases of cancer are anticipated in southeast Asia annually, an 89.2% increase in men and a 65.6% increase in women, relative to 2022.”
The investigators concluded: “The current patterns of cancer incidence and mortality in southeast Asia are primarily driven by breast cancer in women and lung cancer in men, but infection-related cancers (liver and cervix) are common in some countries. Regional collaborations must be strengthened to improve cancer prevention, diagnosis, care, and research in southeast Asia.”
Freddie Bray, MSc, PhD, of International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France, is the corresponding author for The Lancet Oncology article.
Disclosure: The study was funding by the National Cancer Institute and the Prostate Cancer Foundation. For full disclosures of the study authors, visit www.thelancet.com.
