BEIJING, June 2 — About 13.3 million people will die of cancer worldwide a year by 2030, almost double the number in 2008, a World Health Organization cancer research agency said Tuesday.

The research, conducted by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), also indicated that almost 21.4 million new cases of the disease will be diagnosed annually in 2030.

In 2008, 7.6 million people died of cancer and there were an estimated 12.7 million new cases diagnosed, according to the research.

The IARC said the burden of cancer was shifting from wealthier to poorer nations.
Freddie Bray, a scientist in charge of the study, said that in 2008, 56 percent of new cancer cases and 63 percent of cancer deaths occurred in developing countries.

The data also suggested that lung cancer was the most common type of cancer in 2008 worldwide, while breast and colorectal cancer were the next most common forms of the illness. 

On Xinhua Web site: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/health/2010-06/02/c_13328835.htm