近年全球乳癌數目持續上升，更有年輕化的趨勢。世界衛生組織（WHO）專家指出，全球癌症狀況正在發生變化。根據國際癌症研究機構（IARC）於2020年12月發布的統計資料，乳癌已超過肺癌成為全球最常見的癌症，而肥胖更是女性患乳腺癌的常見高危因素。因此小編希望提醒大家，即使是年輕人士亦不應忽略健康問題，應從日常生活習慣著手，遠離煙酒、戒食高脂高糖食物、保持適量運動，從而減低患癌風險。

以下是世衛的有關報道，不妨一讀~

Breast cancer now most common form of cancer: WHO taking action

原文轉載自：World Health Organization

The global cancer landscape  is changing, according to WHO  experts, on the eve of World Cancer Day 2021.   

Breast cancer has now overtaken lung cancer as the world’s mostly commonly-diagnosed cancer, according to statistics released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in December 2020.

So on World Cancer Day, WHO will host the first of a series of consultations in order to establish a new global breast cancer initiative, which will launch later in 2021. This collaborative effort between WHO, IARC, the International Atomic Energy Agency and other multi-sectoral partners, will reduce deaths from breast cancer by promoting breast health, improving timely cancer detection and ensuring access to quality care.  

WHO and the cancer community are responding with renewed urgency to address breast cancer and to respond to the growing cancer burden globally that is straining individuals, communities and health systems.   In the past two decades, the overall number of people diagnosed with cancer nearly doubled, from an estimated 10 million in 2000 to  19.3 million in 2020. Today, one in 5 people worldwide will develop cancer during their lifetime. Projections suggest that the number of people being diagnosed with cancer will increase still further in the coming years, and will be nearly 50% higher in 2040 than in 2020.

The number of deaths from cancer has also increased, from 6.2 million in 2000 to 10 million in 2020. More than one out of every six deaths is due to cancer.

While changes in lifestyle, such as unhealthy diets, insufficient physical activity, use of tobacco and harmful use of alcohol, have all contributed to the increasing cancer burden, a significant proportion can also be attributed to increasing longevity, as the risk of developing cancer increases with age. This reinforces the need to invest in both cancer prevention and cancer control, focusing on actionable cancers like breast, cervical and childhood cancers.