What is Cancer – What You Need to Know

In Singapore

• About 37 people are diagnosed with cancer every day
• The most common cancers in men are:

1. Colorectal Cancer
2. Lung Cancer
3. Prostate Cancer
4. Liver Cancer
5. Lymphoid Neoplasms

• The most common cancers in women are:

1. Breast Cancer
2. Colorectal Cancer
3. Lung Cancer
4. Corpus uteri (uterus)
5. Ovarian Cancer

Source: World Health Organization (WHO), Singapore Cancer Society

Worldwide

• Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 14 million new cases in 2012
• The number of new cases is expected to rise by about 70% over the next 2 decades
• Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally and was responsible for 8.8 million deaths in 2015. Globally, nearly 1 in 6 deaths is due to cancer.
• Around one-third of deaths from cancer are due to the 5 leading behavioural and dietary risks: high body mass index, low fruit and vegetable intake, lack of physical activity, tobacco use, and alcohol use
• Tobacco use is the most important risk factor for cancer and is responsible for approximately 22% of cancer deaths

Source: World Health Organization (WHO)

There are over 100 different types of cancer. Each is named by the type of cell that is initially affected.

Cancer harms the body when mutated or altered cells divide uncontrollably to form lumps or masses of cancerous tissue called tumours.

There are benign tumours that stay in one spot and demonstrate limited growth. These are more easily treated than the more dangerous malignant tumours.

Malignant tumours occur when a cancerous cell manages to move throughout the body using the blood or lymphatic systems, destroying healthy tissue in a process called the invasion or if that cell manages to divide and grow, making new blood vessels to feed itself. This process is called angiogenesis.

Metastasis is a process that is caused when a tumour successfully spreads to other parts of the body and grows, invading and destroying other healthy tissues. Metastasized tissue is serious condition and the most difficult to treat.

Worldwide

Worldwide, there were an estimated 14.1 million cancer cases in 2012, of which 7.4 million cases were in men and 6.7 million in women. The number is expected to increase to 24 million by 2035.

Men	%	Women	%
Lung	16.7%	Breast	25.2%
Prostate	15.0%	Colorectal	9.2%
Colorectal	1.0%	Lung	8.8%
Stomach	8.5%	Cervix	4.8%
Liver	7.5%	Stomach Cancer and Endometrium	4.8%

Source: World Cancer Research Fund

Singapore

In Singapore, about 37 people are diagnosed with cancer every day.

Men	%	Women	%
Colorectal	17.2%	Breast	29.2%
Lung	15.0%	Colorectal	13.3%
Prostate	12.2%	Lung	7.6%
Liver	7.6%	Corpus uteri (uterus)	6.6%
Lymphoid neoplasms	6.8%	Ovary	5.4%

Source: Singapore Cancer Registry, Interim Annual Registry Report, Trends in Cancer Incidence in Singapore, 2010-2014