Cancer incidence and mortality estimates in 2022 in southeast Asia: a comparative analysis

Dee EC 1 , Laversanne M 2 , Bhoo-Pathy N 3 , Ho FDV 4 , Feliciano EJG 5 , Eala MAB 6 Show all authors , Ting FIL 7 , Ginsburg O 8 , Moraes FY 9 , Gyawali B 10 , Gomez SL 11 , Ng K 12 , Wu JF 13 , Jain U 14 , Jain B 15 , Columbres RC 16 , Matsuda T 17 , Sangrajrang S 18 , Sinuraya ES 19 , Bui TD 20 , Wei W 21 , Won YJ 22 , Foo LL 23 , Ling MCA 24 , Mery L 2 , Soerjomataram I 2 , Bray F 25

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
  • 2 Cancer Surveillance Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France
  • 3 Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Practice, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 4 College of Medicine, University of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines
  • 5 Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health, Ateneo de Manila University, Pasig City, Philippines; Department of Medicine, NYC Health+Hospitals/Elmhurst, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Queens, New York, NY, USA
  • 6 College of Medicine, University of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines; Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
  • 7 Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital, Bacolod, Philippines; Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of St La Salle, Bacolod, Philippines
  • 8 Centre for Global Health, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD, USA
  • 9 Department of Oncology, Kingston General Hospital, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada; Department of Radiology and Oncology, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil; Division of Cancer Care and Epidemiology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
  • 10 Division of Cancer Care and Epidemiology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada; Departments of Oncology and Public Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
  • 11 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
  • 12 Department of Medical Oncology, Barts Cancer Centre, London, UK
  • 13 Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
  • 14 University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
  • 15 Department of Health Policy, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
  • 16 Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA; College of Osteopathic Medicine, William Carey University, Hattiesburg, MS, USA
  • 17 Center for Cancer Registries, National Cancer Center Institute for Cancer Control, Tokyo, Japan
  • 18 National Cancer Institute, Department of Medical Services, Ministry of Public Health, Bangkok, Thailand
  • 19 Department of National Quality Control for Cancer Burden and Networking, Dharmais National Cancer Center, Jakarta, Indonesia
  • 20 Ho Chi Minh Cancer Registry, Ho Chi Minh City Oncological Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
  • 21 National Central Cancer Registry, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
  • 22 Division of Health Administration, College of Software Digital Healthcare Convergence, Yonsei University, Wonju, South Korea
  • 23 Health Promotion Board, Singapore
  • 24 Health Promotion Board, Singapore; Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore
  • 25 Cancer Surveillance Branch, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France. Electronic address: brayf@iarc.who.int
Lancet Oncol, 2025 Feb 27.
PMID: 40024257 DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(25)00017-8

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in southeast Asia. We aimed to present and interpret cancer incidence and mortality statistics in the 11 constituent countries of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam to inform research priorities, health services, and cancer policy.

METHODS: The number of new incident cases and deaths for all cancers combined and for leading cancers were extracted from the GLOBOCAN 2022 database developed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer for the 11 countries in southeast Asia. For comparison, we extracted estimates from China, India, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, and the USA. We estimated age-standardised incidence rates (ASIRs) and age-standardised mortality rates (ASMRs) per 100 000 person-years; projections to 2050 were also estimated by multiplying ASIR and ASMR estimates for 2022 by the expected population for 2050. Data on race or ethnicity were not collected.

FINDINGS: Data were extracted on Dec 5, 2024. For the 11 countries in southeast Asia for all cancers combined, 545 725 (47·6%) of a total of 1 146 810 incident cases were estimated in men and 601 085 (52·4%) incident cases were estimated in women in 2022. In the same period, 385 430 (53·8%) of a total of 716 116 deaths were estimated in men and 330 686 (46·2%) deaths were estimated in women. The total cancer ASIR in men and women was highest in Singapore (235·89 per 100 000 and 231·01 per 100 000 respectively), while the corresponding ASMR was greatest in Laos for men (132·91 per 100 000) and Brunei for women (104·20 per 100 000). Breast cancer was the most common cancer among women in all countries (highest ASIRs in Singapore [72·61 per 100 000] and the Philippines [60·34 per 100 000]), and the most common cause of cancer mortality among women in the Philippines (ASMR 21·47 per 100 000), Malaysia (19·30 per 100 000), Singapore (17·82 per 100 000), Viet Nam (14·67 per 100 000), Indonesia (14·35 per 100 000), and Timor-Leste (10·24 per 100 000). Among men, lung cancer was the most frequently diagnosed cancer in the Philippines (ASIR 37·66 per 100 000), Malaysia (23·23 per 100 000), Myanmar (21·59 per 100 000), and Indonesia (21·30 per 100 000), and the leading cause of death due to cancer in the Philippines (ASMR 33·59 per 100 000), Singapore (31·94 per 100 000), Brunei (23·84 per 100 000), Malaysia (20·42 per 100 000), Myanmar (19·91 per 100 000), Indonesia (18·96 per 100 000), and Timor-Leste (12·95 per 100 000). Liver cancer contributed the greatest incidence and mortality in men in Cambodia, Laos, Viet Nam, and Thailand, and was also the leading cause of death due to cancer among women in Laos (ASMR 13·49 per 100 000), Cambodia (13·34 per 100 000), and Thailand (12·14 per 100 000). Cervical cancer was the leading cause of death due to cancer in women in Myanmar (ASMR 13·37 per 100 000); colorectal cancer was the most common cancer in men in Singapore (ASIR 39·41 per 100 00) and Brunei (37·70 per 100 000). By 2050, 2·03 million new cases of cancer are anticipated in southeast Asia annually, an 89·2% increase in men and a 65·6% increase in women, relative to 2022.

INTERPRETATION: The current patterns of cancer incidence and mortality in southeast Asia are primarily driven by breast cancer in women and lung cancer in men, but infection-related cancers (liver and cervix) are common in some countries. Regional collaborations must be strengthened to improve cancer prevention, diagnosis, care, and research in southeast Asia.

FUNDING: National Cancer Institute and the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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