# Sung 2021: GLOBOCAN 2020, the year breast cancer overtook lung cancer as the most diagnosed cancer

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-sung-globocan-2020-cacancer-2021/  
OnCo record `paper-sung-globocan-2020-cacancer-2021` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The IARC count for 2020: about 19.3 million new cancer cases worldwide, with female breast cancer overtaking lung cancer as the most commonly diagnosed cancer for the first time, and a projected rise to about 28 million cases a year by 2040.

## Summary

GLOBOCAN 2020, from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, estimated incidence and mortality for 36 cancers in 185 countries. It counted an estimated 19.3 million new cases (18.1 million excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) in 2020. Female breast cancer became the most commonly diagnosed cancer, ahead of lung, colorectal, prostate and stomach cancers, while lung cancer remained the leading cause of cancer death. The authors projected 28.4 million cases in 2040, a 47% rise on 2020 driven by population growth and ageing, with the largest relative increases in countries undergoing economic transition.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Journal: CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians
- Year: 2021
- DOI: 10.3322/caac.21660
- Authors: Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, et al.
- Findings: About 19.3 million new cancer cases and almost 10 million cancer deaths worldwide in 2020.; Female breast cancer the most commonly diagnosed cancer (about 2.3 million cases, 11.7% of the total), overtaking lung cancer.; Lung cancer the leading cause of cancer death (about 1.8 million deaths, 18% of the total), followed by colorectal, liver, stomach and female breast cancers.; Projected 28.4 million cases in 2040, a 47% increase from 2020.
- What it means: This report marked the shift of the global cancer burden towards breast cancer and towards lower-income countries, and it is the baseline most 2020s policy documents cite. The GLOBOCAN 2022 release has since updated the totals.
- Caveats: Estimates for 2020 were made before the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on diagnoses could be measured.; Many countries lack population-based registries, so their figures rest on modelling.

## Sources

- Full text (DOI): https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21660
- IARC Global Cancer Observatory: https://gco.iarc.who.int/today

## Connected records

- key papers: [Bray 2018: GLOBOCAN 2018, worldwide incidence and mortality for 36 cancers](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-bray-globocan-2018-cacancer-2018/), [Bray 2024: GLOBOCAN 2022, the world's cancer count for 36 cancers in 185 countries](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-bray-globocan-2022-cacancer-2024/), [Ferlay 2021: cancer statistics for the year 2020, an overview](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-ferlay-cancer-statistics-2020-overview-ijc-2021/), [Fitzmaurice 2017: the Global Burden of Disease estimate of cancer in 2015](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-fitzmaurice-gbd-cancer-2015-jamaoncol-2017/)
- cancers: [Colorectal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/colorectal/), [HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/breast-hr-positive/), [Non-small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/nsclc/)
- institutions: [International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC / WHO)](https://onco.cc/institutions/iarc/)
- terms: [Incidence versus prevalence](https://onco.cc/terms/incidence-vs-prevalence/), [Mortality](https://onco.cc/terms/mortality/)
- people: [Freddie Bray](https://onco.cc/people/bray-freddie/)

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