WHO Report Projects Cancer Cases Will Nearly Double Worldwide by 2050

The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Status Report on Cancer 2026, released on July 8, 2026, projects that, without urgent action, new annual cancer cases will nearly double, from the current 20.6 million to nearly 35 million by 2050. While heart disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, cancer ranks second. The WHO attributes the projected increase to a combination of population growth, aging populations, preventable risk factors, and persistent health care inequities in access to prevention, early detection, and treatment.¹

Much of the report focuses on how health systems should respond to that growing burden, emphasizing expanded access to care, strengthening the health care workforce, and reducing disparities in cancer outcomes. The report, developed jointly with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), notes that health care inequities continue to widen globally, with breast cancer survival rates varying dramatically. According to the report, “while 87% of women with breast cancer survive at five years after their diagnosis in high-income countries, only about 42% do so in low-income countries.”²

Despite an overall decline in tobacco use, lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death globally. The report states that lung, prostate and colorectal cancers are among the most common cancers in men, while breast, lung and colorectal cancers account for a substantial share of the burden among women.³

Over the past several years, various studies and media reports linked COVID shots to better cancer outcomes, lower cancer risk, improved cancer survival, and lower risk of all-cause mortality.^{4 5} One study specifically made the claim that patients with advanced lung or skin cancer who received a COVID-19 mRNA shot within 100 days of starting immunotherapy drugs “lived significantly longer than those who did not get the vaccine.”⁶ None of these reports or studies are referenced in the WHO cancer report as promising interventions for reducing projected cancer incidence.

WHO Report Focuses on Health Systems and Ignores Carcinogens

Conversely, an April 2026 peer-reviewed study published in Nature Medicine found that rising early-onset colorectal cancer, included in the report as one of the most common cancers for both men and women, is linked to pesticide exposure via herbicides containing ingredients banned in other countries but still approved for use in the United States. This study was published just two months after President Trump issued an Executive Order on Feb. 18, 2026 prioritizing domestic production of glyphosate, the primary ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, calling the controversial pesticide critical to national security.⁷

Glyphosate has been the subject of extensive litigation in recent years and has been classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans” by some international health agencies, including IARC. Although the report was developed jointly by WHO and IARC, it does not specifically discuss glyphosate or many other environmental chemical exposures that IARC has previously classified as carcinogenic or probably carcinogenic. Instead, the report focuses primarily on demographic trends, health care inequities, and established preventable risk factors.⁸

Oncologist Calls for Ban of COVID Shots After Worsening Cancer Outcomes

The report comes just one month after a U.S. Senate hearing on Jun. 3 that examined whether mRNA COVID biologicals can cause or accelerate cancer and whether researchers raising that question have been silenced or have had their research systematically suppressed. British oncologist and immunologist Angus Dalgleish, MD, is one of many physicians who raised concerns during the hearing, calling for a ban on mRNA COVID shots after describing clinical observations that included cancer relapses and unusually aggressive disease progression in patients whose conditions had remained stable in prior years. Concluding his testimony, Dalgleish said, in part, “I believe there is now an urgent need for independent investigation into the potential relationship between repeated mRNA vaccination, immune dysregulation, and aggressive cancer progression, particularly in vulnerable populations.”⁹

According to manufacturers’ package inserts, the FDA-approved mRNA COVID shot Comirnaty, as well as many routinely used vaccines included on the CDC’s Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedule were not evaluated for carcinogenicity. This is noted in Section 13.1 of the respective manufacturers’ inserts. As the insert for Comirnaty states, “Comirnaty has not been evaluated for the potential to cause carcinogenicity, genotoxicity, or impairment of male fertility.”¹⁰

The report includes an urgent call to action for nurses. According to reporting by Oncology Nursing News, nurses are “uniquely positioned to spearhead prevention efforts,” citing that nearly 40 percent of global cancer cases are linked to preventable risk factors. The WHO also calls for a “strategic shift toward a people-centered approach that responds to the lived experiences of patients and their families.” This shift includes three focal points: strengthening cancer care by expanding universal health coverage and the health care workforce, centering care around patients while improving social protections, and investing in research that delivers equitable access to effective innovations.¹¹

According to a Mayo Clinic study, nurses have experienced record levels of burnout, higher rates of isolation and even suicidal ideation in recent years. However, the impetus to reduce cancer rates, according to the WHO report, falls heavily on nurses and other health care workers while little attention is paid to addressing many ubiquitous environmental chemical exposures that have been identified in the scientific literature as carcinogenic or associated with increased cancer risk yet remain approved for widespread use.¹²

That expectation comes as nurses continue to face unprecedented workplace strain. Since 2022, the American Medical Association (AMA) has warned of worsening physician and health care workforce shortages, calling the crisis both current and escalating. The convergence of workforce shortages, escalating burnout, and rising physician isolation raises questions about the long-term sustainability of the current health care delivery model.¹³

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