Source: News

WORLDWIDE cases of cancer are likely to rise by nearly 75 per cent by 2030, driven by demographic and lifestyle factors, according to a study published in the journal The Lancet Oncology.

A team led by Freddie Bray of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France, said that in 2008 there were 12.7 million new cases of cancer, which would rise to 22.2 million by 2030, with 90 per cent of the rise occurring in the poorest countries.

In many countries, falls in cancers linked to infection have been offset by cancers of the colon, rectum, breast and prostate which are associated with a “westernised” diet, they said in the report published today.

The study used data from GLOBOCAN, an IARC database of cancer cases in 184 countries.

In 2008, breast, lung, colorectal and prostate cancers accounted for half of the tally of cancers in rich countries. In middle-income countries, cancers of the oesophagus, stomach and liver were relatively more common.

Both categories of countries have seen falls in cervical and stomach cancer in recent years.

In the poorest countries, cervical cancer was particularly numerous, outstripping the cases of breast and liver cancer.

“If the cancer-specific and sex-specific trends estimated in this study continue, we predict an increase in the incidence of all-cancer cases from 12.7 million new cases in 2008 to 22.2 million by 2030,” said the study.

“Targeted interventions can lead to a decrease in the projected increase… through effective primary prevention strategies, alongside the implementation of vaccination, early detection and effective treatment programs.”

Source: TheAustralian

THE world’s richest people got even wealthier last year despite the global economic crisis, thanks to the growth of emerging economies in Asia and eastern Europe, according to a new report.

And the elite “ultra-high-net-worth” (UNHW) club is set to get richer still over next five years, the report predicts.
“Overall, global growth in private wealth is clearly being driven by rapidly developing economies in the ‘new world’, not by the ‘old world’,” the report by the Boston Consulting Group said.

Worldwide, private financial wealth grew 1.9 per cent to $US122.8 trillion ($A126.8 trillion). The increase was considerably weaker than the 6.8 per cent rise recorded in 2010 the 9.6 per cent gain in 2009.

The highest growth was recorded among the richest of the rich: wealth held by those in the exclusive UHNW club rose by 3.6 per cent last year, the report found.

The consulting group predicted private wealth would continue to grow, with a compound annual growth (CAGR) of between four and five per cent over the next five years to reach more than $US150 trillion by the end of 2016.
And the super-rich would continue to lead the pack, it added.

The growth in private wealth showed wide regional variations, with North America seeing a 0.9 per cent decline in 2011 to $US38 trillion, though expected market improvements would likely reverse the drop.

By contrast, private wealth in the Asia-Pacific region – excluding Japan – increased by 10.7 per cent in 2011 to $US23.7 trillion.

Wealth in the region is expected to continue growing at a double-digit rate and reach $US40.1 trillion by the end of 2016, when it would have crept past Western and Eastern Europe combined, the report said.

In Eastern Europe, Russian growth was the main driving force behind the 2011 increase in the region’s wealth, which rose 14.4 per cent to $US1.9 trillion.

Growth in the region was expected to outstrip growth in Western Europe by about 8.7 per cent over the next five years to reach $US2.9 trillion by the end of 2016, the report said.