Jacques Ferlay

Ovarian cancer today and tomorrow: A global assessment by world region and Human Development Index using GLOBOCAN 2020

AbstractOvarian cancer remains to have relatively poor prognosis particularly in low‐resourced settings. It is therefore important to continually examine the burden of ovarian cancer to identify areas of disparities. Our study aims to provide an overview of the global burden of ovarian cancer using the GLOBOCAN 2020 estimates by country, world region, and Human Development Index (HDI) levels, as well as the predicted future burden by the year 2040 by HDI. Age‐standardized incidence and mortality rates for ovarian cancer in 185 countries were calculated by country, world region, and for the four‐tier HDI. The number of new cases and deaths were projected for the year 2040 based on demographic projections by HDI category. Approximately 314 000 new ovarian cancer cases and 207 000 deaths occurred in 2020. There were marked geographic variations in incidence rates, with the highest rates observed in European countries with very high HDI and low rates were found in African countries within the lowest HDI group. Comparable mortality rates were observed across the four‐tier HDI. Relative to 2020 estimates, our projection for 2040 indicates approximately 96% and 100% increase in new ovarian cancer cases and deaths, respectively, among low HDI countries compared to 19% and 28% in very high HDI countries. Our study highlights the disproportionate current and future burden of ovarian cancer in countries with lower HDI levels, calling for global action to reduce the burden and inequality of ovarian cancer in access to quality cancer care and treatment.

Cancer inequalities in incidence and mortality in the State of São Paulo, Brazil 2001–17

AbstractBackgroundCancer disparities exist between and within countries; we sought to compare cancer‐specific incidence and mortality according to area‐level socioeconomic status (SES) in the State of São Paulo, Brazil.MethodsCancer cases diagnosed 2003–2017 in the Barretos region and 2001–2015 in the municipality of São Paulo were obtained from the respective cancer registries. Corresponding cancer deaths were obtained from a Brazilian public government database. Age‐standardized rates for all cancer combined and the six most common cancers were calculated by SES quartiles.ResultsThere were 14,628 cancer cases and 7513 cancer deaths in Barretos, and 472,712 corresponding cases and 194,705 deaths in São Paulo. A clear SES‐cancer gradient was seen in São Paulo, with rates varying from 188.4 to 333.1 in low to high SES areas, respectively. There was a lesser social gradient for mortality, with rates in low to high SES areas ranging from 86.4 to 98.0 in Barretos, and from 99.2 to 100.1 in São Paulo. The magnitude of the incidence rates rose markedly with increasing SES in São Paulo city for colorectal, lung, female breast, and prostate cancer. Conversely, both cervical cancer incidence and mortality rose with lower levels of SES in both regions.ConclusionsA clear SES association was seen for cancers of the prostate, female breast, colorectum, and lung for São Paulo. This study offers a better understanding of the cancer incidence and mortality profile according to SES within a highly populated Brazilian state.