Stack Exchange network consists of 180 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.
Medical Sciences Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professionals in medical and allied health fields, students of those professions, related academics, and others with a sound understanding of medicine and healthcare-related sciences. It only takes a minute to sign up.
I have looked at the statistics for cancer and it shows that cancer is 1.8 times higher in more developed countries compared with less developed countries - which to me is counter-intuitive (air pollution, more sun, nutrition, sanitation, etc.).
Why cancer is almost twice as likely in more developed compared with less developed countries?
Alongside a lower life-expectancy, consider the rate of diagnosis. Many under-developed countries simply cannot determine if cancer is the root cause of a illness.
Precisely because developed countries have better air quality, nutrition, sanitation, healthcare, etc. life expectancy is higher and cancer is more likely in these countries.
This is because cancer is caused by mutations in DNA which accumulate over time.
Since life expectancy in general is higher in developed countries, there is more time for mutations to accumulate and for cancer to develop in these people.
Less developed countries have lower life expectancy, which means diseases and issues which developed countries have solved or are able to successfully deal with kill large enough portions of populations in undeveloped countries before mutations in DNA can accumulate in these people.
For this reason, cancer is often referred to as the problem -- in large part -- of the developed world.
It would be interesting to see rates broken down by age groups. If your answer is the entire explanation, then pediatric cancer rates would be the same. My bet is they are not. I would expect pedi cancer rates in developed nations to be higher than in undeveloped nations due to lower detection and reporting rates in the undeveloped world.
I would not expect the incidence to be the same. Children born in developing countries are most likely at much higher risk for cancer because of environmental factors they may be exposed to in utero or by their parents when they are born.
Do not share personal medical information, medical history or any other specific details about a person's medical symptoms, condition etc (whether yours or someone you know) on this site or any Stack Exchange site. This is a public Site and all posts on this Site can be seen by anyone and may be shared freely with others.
Medical Sciences Stack Exchange is not a substitute for medical advice, individualized diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare provider. Communications on Medical Sciences Stack Exchange are not privileged/private communications and do not create a doctor-patient relationship. Full disclaimer and more information about this site here.
By clicking “Accept all cookies”, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy.