On Nov. 5, 2024, a cross-sectional study of data for 36 cancer types from 185 countries and territories showed that cancer disparities were evident across the Human Development Index (HDI), region, age, and sex in 2022 and were projected to widen by 2050.

Cancer cases and deaths were expected to rise by 77% and 90% in 2050, respectively, with a 3-fold increase in low-HDI countries compared with a modest increase in very high–HDI countries (142% vs 42% for cancer cases and 146% vs 57% for cancer deaths).

These findings suggest that enhancing health care systems for cancer prevention, early diagnosis, management, and treatment is vital to better address existing disparities in cancer outcomes and slow projected trends. The study was published in JAMA Network.