After the publication of this work [1], we noticed the typographical errors in Tables 8, 9, 16, and 17: there were inconsistencies between the ranking of cancer mortality and incidence and their corresponding figures. Here we briefly present the results along with the revisions of the relevant tables since the ranking was corrected while the figures remained the same as the original.
Tables 1 and 2 represent the ranking of the number of deaths by cancer site in the world and three selected sub regions: African Region with a high child and adult mortality (AfrE), European Region with a very low child and adult mortality (EurA), and South East Asia Region with a low child and adult mortality (SearB). Lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer deaths in the world, accounting for 17% of total cancer mortality, followed by cancers of stomach (12% of total), colon and rectum (9%), liver (9%), and breast (7%). In males, lung, stomach, and liver cancers were the three most common causes of cancer deaths. The leading cause of cancer deaths among females was breast cancer, but lung cancer was already one of the largest causes of female cancer mortality.
Table 1.
Ranking of the global cancer deaths by site, 2000
| Site | Number of deaths (000s) | Proporion of total (%) |
| Both sexes | ||
| Trachea, bronchus, and lung | 1,201.1 | 17.1 |
| Stomach | 836.2 | 11.9 |
| Colon and rectum | 607.3 | 8.7 |
| Liver | 605.9 | 8.6 |
| Breast | 468.9 | 6.7 |
| Oesophagus | 431.2 | 6.1 |
| Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 332.3 | 4.7 |
| Mouth and oropharynx | 319.6 | 4.6 |
| Prostate | 263.6 | 3.8 |
| Leukaemia | 260.1 | 3.7 |
| Cervix uteri | 259.6 | 3.7 |
| Pancreas | 222.6 | 3.2 |
| Bladder | 177.4 | 2.5 |
| Ovary | 128.6 | 1.8 |
| Corpus uteri | 72.9 | 1.0 |
| Melanoma of the skin | 65.1 | 0.9 |
| Males | ||
| Trachea, bronchus, and lung | 877.3 | 22.5 |
| Stomach | 512.0 | 13.2 |
| Liver | 414.9 | 10.7 |
| Colon and rectum | 311.8 | 8.0 |
| Oesophagus | 273.6 | 7.0 |
| Prostate | 263.6 | 6.8 |
| Mouth and oropharynx | 222.4 | 5.7 |
| Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 168.6 | 4.3 |
| Leukaemia | 145.3 | 3.7 |
| Bladder | 123.9 | 3.2 |
| Pancreas | 117.0 | 3.0 |
| Melanoma of the skin | 35.1 | 0.9 |
| Females | ||
| Breast | 466.3 | 14.9 |
| Stomach | 324.2 | 10.4 |
| Trachea, bronchus, and lung | 323.8 | 10.4 |
| Colon and rectum | 295.5 | 9.4 |
| Cervix uteri | 259.6 | 8.3 |
| Liver | 191.0 | 6.1 |
| Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 163.7 | 5.2 |
| Oesophagus | 157.6 | 5.0 |
| Ovary | 128.6 | 4.1 |
| Leukaemia | 114.7 | 3.7 |
| Pancreas | 105.6 | 3.4 |
| Mouth and oropharynx | 97.2 | 3.1 |
| Corpus uteri | 72.9 | 2.3 |
| Bladder | 53.5 | 1.7 |
| Melanoma of the skin | 30.1 | 1.0 |
Table 2.
Ranking of selected regional cancer deaths by site, 2000
| WHO sub region | ||||||||
| AfrE (high child and adult mortality) | EurA (very low child and adult mortality) | SearB (low child and adult mortality) | ||||||
| Site | Number of deaths (000s) | Proportion of total (%) | Number of deaths (000s) | Proportion of total (%) | Number of deaths (000s) | Proportion of total (%) | ||
| Both sexes | ||||||||
| Cervix uteri | 36.8 | 12.4 | Trachea, bronchus, and lung | 207.2 | 19.5 | Trachea, bronchus, and lung | 48.3 | 16.6 |
| Liver | 33.3 | 11.2 | Colon and rectum | 141.8 | 13.3 | Liver | 36.5 | 12.5 |
| Breast | 23.0 | 7.8 | Breast | 92.7 | 8.7 | Breast | 29.1 | 10.0 |
| Mouth and oropharynx | 21.4 | 7.2 | Prostate | 70.2 | 6.6 | Colon and rectum | 27.6 | 9.5 |
| Oesophagus | 20.6 | 7.0 | Stomach | 66.8 | 6.3 | Mouth and oropharynx | 18.6 | 6.4 |
| Prostate | 19.2 | 6.5 | Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 55.0 | 5.2 | Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 15.8 | 5.4 |
| Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 18.8 | 6.4 | Pancreas | 53.6 | 5.0 | Cervix uteri | 15.4 | 5.3 |
| Stomach | 17.0 | 5.7 | Liver | 38.6 | 3.6 | Leukaemia | 14.7 | 5.1 |
| Colon and rectum | 14.1 | 4.8 | Bladder | 37.6 | 3.5 | Stomach | 12.5 | 4.3 |
| Trachea, bronchus, and lung | 14.0 | 4.7 | Leukaemia | 37.3 | 3.5 | Ovary | 8.7 | 3.0 |
| Leukaemia | 11.8 | 4.0 | Oesophagus | 29.2 | 2.7 | Prostate | 8.1 | 2.8 |
| Ovary | 6.7 | 2.3 | Ovary | 25.7 | 2.4 | Pancreas | 6.8 | 2.3 |
| Bladder | 6.3 | 2.1 | Mouth and oropharynx | 24.9 | 2.3 | Bladder | 5.8 | 2.0 |
| Melanoma of the skin | 5.3 | 1.8 | Corpus uteri | 16.0 | 1.5 | Oesophagus | 5.6 | 1.9 |
| Pancreas | 5.2 | 1.8 | Melanoma of the skin | 15.5 | 1.5 | Corpus uteri | 4.0 | 1.4 |
| Corpus uteri | 1.7 | 0.6 | Cervix uteri | 8.3 | 0.8 | Melanoma of the skin | 1.7 | 0.6 |
| Males | ||||||||
| Liver | 23.5 | 15.2 | Trachea, bronchus, and lung | 158.0 | 26.6 | Trachea, bronchus, and lung | 40.8 | 26.4 |
| Prostate | 19.2 | 12.5 | Colon and rectum | 72.1 | 12.1 | Liver | 25.9 | 16.7 |
| Mouth and oropharynx | 14.3 | 9.3 | Prostate | 70.2 | 11.8 | Colon and rectum | 13.9 | 9.0 |
| Oesophagus | 13.8 | 8.9 | Stomach | 38.9 | 6.5 | Mouth and oropharynx | 13.1 | 8.4 |
| Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 13.7 | 8.9 | Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 27.6 | 4.6 | Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 9.6 | 6.2 |
| Stomach | 9.8 | 6.3 | Bladder | 27.1 | 4.6 | Prostate | 8.1 | 5.3 |
| Trachea, bronchus, and lung | 9.4 | 6.1 | Pancreas | 26.7 | 4.5 | Leukaemia | 7.6 | 4.9 |
| Colon and rectum | 8.8 | 5.7 | Liver | 25.3 | 4.3 | Stomach | 7.1 | 4.6 |
| Leukaemia | 6.9 | 4.5 | Oesophagus | 21.4 | 3.6 | Bladder | 4.4 | 2.8 |
| Bladder | 4.3 | 2.8 | Leukaemia | 20.0 | 3.4 | Pancreas | 3.5 | 2.3 |
| Pancreas | 2.7 | 1.8 | Mouth and oropharynx | 19.2 | 3.2 | Oesophagus | 3.3 | 2.1 |
| Melanoma of the skin | 2.2 | 1.5 | Melanoma of the skin | 8.3 | 1.4 | Melanoma of the skin | 0.7 | 0.5 |
| Females | ||||||||
| Cervix uteri | 36.8 | 26.0 | Breast | 91.8 | 19.6 | Breast | 29.0 | 21.2 |
| Breast | 23.0 | 16.3 | Colon and rectum | 69.7 | 14.9 | Cervix uteri | 15.4 | 11.2 |
| Liver | 9.8 | 6.9 | Trachea, bronchus, and lung | 49.2 | 10.5 | Colon and rectum | 13.6 | 10.0 |
| Stomach | 7.2 | 5.1 | Stomach | 27.9 | 6.0 | Liver | 10.6 | 7.8 |
| Mouth and oropharynx | 7.1 | 5.0 | Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 27.4 | 5.9 | Ovary | 8.7 | 6.3 |
| Oesophagus | 6.8 | 4.8 | Pancreas | 26.9 | 5.8 | Trachea, bronchus, and lung | 7.5 | 5.5 |
| Ovary | 6.7 | 4.8 | Ovary | 25.7 | 5.5 | Leukaemia | 7.2 | 5.2 |
| Colon and rectum | 5.3 | 3.7 | Leukaemia | 17.2 | 3.7 | Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 6.1 | 4.5 |
| Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 5.2 | 3.7 | Corpus uteri | 16.0 | 3.4 | Mouth and oropharynx | 5.5 | 4.0 |
| Leukaemia | 4.9 | 3.5 | Liver | 13.3 | 2.8 | Stomach | 5.5 | 4.0 |
| Trachea, bronchus, and lung | 4.5 | 3.2 | Bladder | 10.5 | 2.2 | Corpus uteri | 4.0 | 2.9 |
| Melanoma of the skin | 3.0 | 2.1 | Cervix uteri | 8.3 | 1.8 | Pancreas | 3.3 | 2.4 |
| Pancreas | 2.5 | 1.8 | Oesophagus | 7.8 | 1.7 | Oesophagus | 2.3 | 1.7 |
| Bladder | 2.0 | 1.4 | Melanoma of the skin | 7.2 | 1.5 | Bladder | 1.4 | 1.0 |
| Corpus uteri | 1.7 | 1.2 | Mouth and oropharynx | 5.7 | 1.2 | Melanoma of the skin | 1.0 | 0.7 |
The distribution of common cancer incidence was somewhat similar to that of mortality: lung cancer was the most common cancer in the world in 2000, accounting for 13% of total cancer incidence, followed by cancers of colon and rectum (10% of total), breast (10%), stomach (10%), and liver (6%) (Table 3). As in mortality distribution, there is a significant variation in the distribution of site-specific cancer incidence by region (Table 4). The variations in the distribution of site-specific new cases of cancer by region were also similar to those observed in mortality distribution.
Table 3.
Ranking of the global cancer incidence by site, 2000
| Site | Number of new cases (000s) | Proportion of total (%) |
| Both sexes | ||
| Trachea, bronchus and lung | 1,305.6 | 12.7 |
| Colon and rectum | 1,045.0 | 10.2 |
| Breast | 1,031.9 | 10.0 |
| Stomach | 973.1 | 9.5 |
| Liver | 626.4 | 6.1 |
| Prostate | 550.2 | 5.3 |
| Cervix uteri | 487.5 | 4.7 |
| Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 481.1 | 4.7 |
| Oesophagus | 452.7 | 4.4 |
| Mouth and oropharynx | 420.7 | 4.1 |
| Bladder | 382.9 | 3.7 |
| Leukaemia | 364.7 | 3.5 |
| Corpus uteri | 326.3 | 3.2 |
| Pancreas | 226.2 | 2.2 |
| Ovary | 221.3 | 2.2 |
| Melanoma of the skin | 206.7 | 2.0 |
| Males | ||
| Trachea, bronchus and lung | 939.9 | 18.2 |
| Stomach | 589.3 | 11.4 |
| Prostate | 550.2 | 10.6 |
| Colon and rectum | 527.8 | 10.2 |
| Liver | 422.0 | 8.2 |
| Oesophagus | 286.5 | 5.5 |
| Bladder | 277.2 | 5.4 |
| Mouth and oropharynx | 267.1 | 5.2 |
| Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 238.5 | 4.6 |
| Leukaemia | 195.2 | 3.8 |
| Pancreas | 119.3 | 2.3 |
| Melanoma of the skin | 118.2 | 2.3 |
| Females | ||
| Breast | 1,031.9 | 20.1 |
| Colon and rectum | 517.3 | 10.1 |
| Cervix uteri | 487.5 | 9.5 |
| Stomach | 383.9 | 7.5 |
| Trachea, bronchus and lung | 365.7 | 7.1 |
| Corpus uteri | 326.3 | 6.4 |
| Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 242.6 | 4.7 |
| Ovary | 221.3 | 4.3 |
| Liver | 204.4 | 4.0 |
| Leukaemia | 169.5 | 3.3 |
| Oesophagus | 166.2 | 3.2 |
| Mouth and oropharynx | 153.6 | 3.0 |
| Pancreas | 106.9 | 2.1 |
| Bladder | 105.7 | 2.1 |
| Melanoma of the skin | 88.5 | 1.7 |
Table 4.
Ranking of the selected regional cancer incidence by site, 2000
| WHO sub region | ||||||||
| AfrE (high child and adult mortality) | EurA (very low child and adult mortality) | SearB (low child and adult mortality) | ||||||
| Site | Number of new cases (000s) | Proportion of total (%) | Site | Number of new cases (000s) | Proportion of total (%) | Site | Number of new cases (000s) | Proportion of total (%) |
| Both sexes | ||||||||
| Cervix uteri | 67.9 | 16.4 | Colon and rectum | 264.7 | 15.4 | Breast | 53.9 | 12.3 |
| Breast | 39.8 | 9.6 | Trachea, bronchus and lung | 227.3 | 13.2 | Trachea, bronchus and lung | 51.4 | 11.7 |
| Liver | 34.7 | 8.3 | Breast | 221.8 | 12.9 | Colon and rectum | 44.3 | 10.1 |
| Prostate | 28.2 | 6.8 | Prostate | 139.1 | 8.1 | Liver | 40.3 | 9.2 |
| Mouth and oropharynx | 27.9 | 6.7 | Bladder | 86.5 | 5.0 | Cervix uteri | 32.8 | 7.5 |
| Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 26.6 | 6.4 | Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 80.2 | 4.7 | Mouth and oropharynx | 25.4 | 5.8 |
| Oesophagus | 21.2 | 5.1 | Stomach | 79.6 | 4.6 | Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 22.9 | 5.2 |
| Colon and rectum | 20.3 | 4.9 | Corpus uteri | 68.3 | 4.0 | Leukaemia | 21.5 | 4.9 |
| Stomach | 19.4 | 4.7 | Pancreas | 55.5 | 3.2 | Corpus uteri | 19.9 | 4.5 |
| Leukaemia | 16.2 | 3.9 | Melanoma of the skin | 49.1 | 2.8 | Ovary | 18.1 | 4.1 |
| Trachea, bronchus and lung | 14.8 | 3.6 | Leukaemia | 48.6 | 2.8 | Stomach | 15.3 | 3.5 |
| Ovary | 12.2 | 2.9 | Liver | 40.1 | 2.3 | Prostate | 13.4 | 3.1 |
| Bladder | 10.7 | 2.6 | Ovary | 39.4 | 2.3 | Bladder | 10.1 | 2.3 |
| Melanoma of the skin | 7.7 | 1.8 | Mouth and oropharynx | 38.6 | 2.2 | Pancreas | 7.2 | 1.7 |
| Corpus uteri | 6.0 | 1.4 | Oesophagus | 31.2 | 1.8 | Oesophagus | 6.2 | 1.4 |
| Pancreas | 5.4 | 1.3 | Cervix uteri | 18.8 | 1.1 | Melanoma of the skin | 3.1 | 0.7 |
| Male | Male | Male | ||||||
| Prostate | 28.2 | 14.8 | Trachea, bronchus and lung | 172.0 | 19.6 | Trachea, bronchus and lung | 43.1 | 22.0 |
| Liver | 23.6 | 12.4 | Prostate | 139.1 | 15.9 | Liver | 28.6 | 14.6 |
| Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 18.6 | 9.8 | Colon and rectum | 133.8 | 15.3 | Colon and rectum | 21.4 | 11.0 |
| Mouth and oropharynx | 16.5 | 8.7 | Bladder | 65.1 | 7.4 | Mouth and oropharynx | 16.0 | 8.2 |
| Oesophagus | 14.1 | 7.4 | Stomach | 45.6 | 5.2 | Prostate | 13.4 | 6.9 |
| Colon and rectum | 12.0 | 6.3 | Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 39.3 | 4.5 | Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 13.3 | 6.8 |
| Stomach | 10.9 | 5.8 | Mouth and oropharynx | 28.7 | 3.3 | Leukaemia | 10.7 | 5.5 |
| Trachea, bronchus and lung | 9.8 | 5.2 | Pancreas | 27.4 | 3.1 | Stomach | 8.6 | 4.4 |
| Leukaemia | 9.2 | 4.9 | Liver | 26.1 | 3.0 | Bladder | 7.7 | 3.9 |
| Bladder | 7.3 | 3.8 | Leukaemia | 25.6 | 2.9 | Oesophagus | 3.8 | 1.9 |
| Melanoma of the skin | 3.4 | 1.8 | Oesophagus | 22.8 | 2.6 | Pancreas | 3.7 | 1.9 |
| Pancreas | 2.8 | 1.5 | Melanoma of the skin | 22.6 | 2.6 | Melanoma of the skin | 1.2 | 0.6 |
| Female | Female | Female | ||||||
| Cervix uteri | 67.9 | 30.2 | Breast | 221.8 | 26.2 | Breast | 53.9 | 22.3 |
| Breast | 39.8 | 17.7 | Colon and rectum | 131.0 | 15.4 | Cervix uteri | 32.8 | 13.6 |
| Ovary | 12.2 | 5.4 | Corpus uteri | 68.3 | 8.1 | Colon and rectum | 22.8 | 9.4 |
| Mouth and oropharynx | 11.4 | 5.1 | Trachea, bronchus and lung | 55.3 | 6.5 | Corpus uteri | 19.9 | 8.2 |
| Liver | 11.1 | 4.9 | Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 40.9 | 4.8 | Ovary | 18.1 | 7.5 |
| Stomach | 8.4 | 3.7 | Ovary | 39.4 | 4.6 | Liver | 11.7 | 4.8 |
| Colon and rectum | 8.2 | 3.7 | Stomach | 33.9 | 4.0 | Leukaemia | 10.8 | 4.5 |
| Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 8.0 | 3.6 | Pancreas | 28.1 | 3.3 | Lymphomas and multiple myeloma | 9.6 | 4.0 |
| Oesophagus | 7.2 | 3.2 | Melanoma of the skin | 26.5 | 3.1 | Mouth and oropharynx | 9.4 | 3.9 |
| Leukaemia | 7.0 | 3.1 | Leukaemia | 23.0 | 2.7 | Trachea, bronchus and lung | 8.3 | 3.4 |
| Corpus uteri | 6.0 | 2.7 | Bladder | 21.4 | 2.5 | Stomach | 6.7 | 2.8 |
| Trachea, bronchus and lung | 5.0 | 2.2 | Cervix uteri | 18.8 | 2.2 | Pancreas | 3.6 | 1.5 |
| Melanoma of the skin | 4.3 | 1.9 | Liver | 14.0 | 1.7 | Oesophagus | 2.5 | 1.0 |
| Bladder | 3.4 | 1.5 | Mouth and oropharynx | 9.9 | 1.2 | Bladder | 2.4 | 1.0 |
| Pancreas | 2.6 | 1.2 | Oesophagus | 8.4 | 1.0 | Melanoma of the skin | 1.9 | 0.8 |
We regret any inconvenience that this inaccuracy in the tables might have caused. We wish to thank Dr. Robert Dubrow of Yale University School of Medicine for bringing this matter to our attention.
Pre-publication history
The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:
Contributor Information
Kenji Shibuya, Email: shibuyak@who.int.
Colin D Mathers, Email: mathersc@who.int.
Cynthia Boschi-Pinto, Email: pintoc@who.int.
Alan D Lopez, Email: A.Lopez@sph.uq.edu.au.
Christopher JL Murray, Email: murrayc@who.int.
References
- Shibuya K, Mathers CD, Boschi-Pinto C, Lopez AD, Murray CJL. Global and regional estimates of cancer mortality and incidence by site: II. results for the global burden of disease 2000. BMC Cancer. 2002;2:37. doi: 10.1186/1471-2407-2-37. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]