Burden of cancer in Africa, 1990-2023: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023.

Cancer caused 1.54 million incident cases and 923,000 deaths in Africa in 2023, with a significant rise in burden since 1990, especially among young populations.

• Why it matters: The rising cancer burden hampers health progress in Africa, where fragmented data limits effective policy responses and resource allocation for cancer control.
• What they did: Using GBD 2023 data, researchers estimated incidence, mortality, DALYs, and risk-attributable burden across all 54 African countries from 1990 to 2023, stratified by age and sex.
• The result: Findings reveal a sharp increase in cancer-related deaths and DALYs, especially among children, adolescents, and young adults, highlighting urgent needs for coordinated prevention, diagnosis, and treatment strategies.