WHO Warns Cancer Rates Could Nearly Double By 2050; Recommends Prevention Through Vaccination

The World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer released a new report that warns about potential increases in cancer cases in the coming decades. There were 20.6 million new cancer cases globally in 2024, and that number could increase by up to 35 million by 2050, a 67% increase. The WHO said urgent action needs to be taken to prevent this surge of cancer cases. Globally, cancer takes the lives of approximately 10 million people and is the second leading cause of death. 

The primary driving force of the increase, according to the WHO, is population aging and growth, but there are also other risk factors for cancer that are moving in the wrong direction on a global scale. Specifically, the WHO notes that there is rising obesity, physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, and air pollution that are also contributing to the rising cancer incidence across the planet.

Over a dozen cancers are tied to excess body weight and sedentary lifestyles, including colorectal, breast (postmenopausal), uterine, pancreatic, kidney, and liver. While the aging population is a factor, these cancers are increasing in younger adults. Smoking has declined throughout the world, but obesity and inactivity are rising in many regions.

The report highlights a “concerning trend” regarding a 79.1% increase in early-onset cancers for individuals under age 50 from 1990 to 2019. This is the only age group that experienced a sustained increase in incidence during this time period and through 2021. The increase in breast and thyroid cancers can be partially explained by screening that results in overdiagnosis, according to the report authors, as well as epigenetic changes, host-environmental interactions, or other factors. They note that the rise in colorectal cancer incidence is “less well understood,” and it is unclear whether it is related to novel factors like the gut microbiome or to more established risk factors like obesity, lack of physical activity, and unhealthy diet.

There is an increase in cancer incidence for nearly all countries across all age groups for thyroid, breast, colorectal, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Liver cancer has also increased in 84-87% of countries across all age groups. Lung cancer has also increased in the majority of the 63 countries providing data to IARC in all age groups over 40.

More recent cancer data hasn’t fully emerged in the aftermath of the pandemic and COVID-19 vaccine program, but there have been a few studies that show increased risk of all cancers, including thyroid, breast, and colorectal cancers, which the WHO said have continued to increase for decades among people under 50 years old.

A large South Korean Cohort from 2021-2023 of 8.4 million people found a 35% increase in thyroid, a 34% increase in gastric, a 28% increase in colorectal, a 53% increase in lung, a 20% increase in breast, and a 69% increase in prostate cancer. Risks varied between mRNA and viral-vector types, age, and sex. The journal flagged concerns and placed the paper under investigation.

A Japanese mortality age-adjusted cancer study found no excess deaths in 2020, some in 2021, and more significant increases in 2022 after people received a third mRNA dose. This is associated with all cancers, with more significant rises in pancreatic, breast, prostate, and leukemia. The study was retracted by the journal on the basis that “ the correlation between mortality rates and vaccination status cannot be proven with the data presented in this article.” The authors disagreed with the retraction.

An analysis of 300,000 people in an Italian population data study found mRNA shots were associated with a 23% higher rate of cancer, 54% for breast, 62% for bladder, and 35% for colorectal. Some doctors have noted an increase in unusually aggressive, rapid-onset or relapsing malignancies, and these are occurring more frequently in younger patients.

The WHO summary states, “Nearly four in ten cancer cases globally are linked to preventable risk factors, particularly infections such as human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B and C, and Helicobacter pylori, alcohol, tobacco use, high body mass index and insufficient physical activity, highlighting the critical role of prevention.” The report suggests increasing HPV and Hepatitis A and B vaccines will help curb certain cancers.

Jefferey Jaxen reported for The HighWire in December about the Cochrane Review, which is an ongoing meta-review of the data that purports to be studying the effectiveness of the HPV vaccine in preventing cervical cancer. The review itself states in the results portion that “The [60] studies were not of sufficient duration for cancers to develop.” The meta-review only analyzed studies that measured lesions and found the vaccine can prevent a small percentage of lesions that are not confirmed to be pre-cancerous.

Jaxen explained in his report with a document from the book “The HPV Vaccine On Trial” that shows that only 10% of HPV infections become CIN1, and only 5% of those that are CIN1 become CIN2. 50-60% of CIN2 spontaneously regress, and about 30-50% of CIN3 progress to cervical cancer. Only 0.18% of HPV infections become cervical cancer. CIN2 and CIN3 can be detected during a Pap smear and removed. Among 50 million Pap smears conducted annually in the US, only 0.02% of them have cervical cancer.

44 of the 60 studies in the Cochrane Review were funded by vaccine developers and/or manufacturers, and 48 of the studies were authored by individuals with financial conflicts of interest with the vaccine developers and/or manufacturers. Despite the methodology not testing for cervical cancer endpoints, which would take 20 years, the Cochrane Review study press release declared that HPV vaccination prevents cervical cancer. That headline was picked up from mainstream media outlets like CNN, Reuters, and the New York Times. The HPV Vaccine on Trial argues that there are hundreds or thousands of harms that are associated with the HPV vaccine, including chronic fatigue, POTS, autoimmune diseases, neurological issues, and fertility problems.

The WHO report identifies a target of 90% uptake for the HPV vaccine globally by 2030, while noting the global rate is currently at 31%. The report also laments that despite 115 countries offering birth-dose Hepatitis B vaccination, only 45% of infants receive the vaccination within the first 24 hours after birth.

In 2020, the Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN) filed a petition to withdraw licensure for the Hepatitis B vaccine due to the insufficient duration of the licensure trials. The Hep B vaccines on the childhood schedule were reviewed for a maximum of 5 days following vaccination to determine that they were safe for the public. In 2025, the vaccine panel (ACIP) voted to remove the blanket birth-dose recommendation in favor of shared clinical decision making. That decision has been temporarily overturned by legal challenges.

The report also mentions mRNA vaccines as a “promising approach to treat people already diagnosed with cancer.”