Meanwhile, the number of deaths increased by 27.7 percent, the study, published in the British Medical Journal of Oncology, said.

Breast cancer accounted for the largest number of these cases and associated deaths, with a total of nearly two million new cases, followed by trachea, lung, stomach and bowel cancer, with the sharpest increases among people with kidney or ovarian cancer.

The report, coordinated by Zhejiang University, in China, and with participation from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Sweden, is based on data from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease Study.

People in their 40s are most at risk, and the main risk factors among those under 50 are diets high in red meat and salt, and low in fruit and milk, as well as alcohol consumption and smoking.

Physical inactivity, overweight and hyperglycemia also contribute to this health problem, in addition to genetic factors.

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