By 2050, the number of cancer cases and deaths are expected to balloon, according to a new report from The Lancet medical journal published today. Researchers say the trend is expected to play out in Canada, too — and health-care systems need to start preparing now to avoid preventable cancer deaths and avoidable health-care expenses.
In 2023, there were 18.5 million new cancer cases globally, excluding non-melanoma skin cancers. By 2050, that number is expected to grow to 30.5 million.
The number of cancer deaths are expected to increase even more dramatically by 2050. In 2023 there were 10.4 million cancer deaths. In 2050, researchers project 18.6 million people will die of cancer.
That reflects a 75 per cent increase in cancer deaths since 2024, say the researchers.
These numbers are coming from graph extrapolation, ignoring the fact we have a demographic bulge of Boomers.
Regardless, this Fall’s budget will actually cut biomedical research in Canada to below 0.25% of healthcare spending. Sounds stupid when you read that aloud.
It’s because people are living longer and surviving other things, plus they’re getting diagnosed sooner due to better healthcare.
So it is bro due to the microplastics and other pollutants, additives and chemicals in the food chain and environment too?
There is no evidence microplastics cause cancer. It’s just the latest trendy thing in media, like lead in window blinds.
There is NO evidence? I found these 10 papers that seems to indicate there is some emerging evidence.
1. “The micro(nano)plastics perspective” (Molecular Cancer, 2025) — overview of micro(nano)plastics and potential links to cancer Link: https://molecular-cancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12943-025-02230-z 2. “Insights into the potential carcinogenicity of micro (nano)plastics” (Domenech et al., 2023) — review of evidence of MNPLs’ carcinogenic potential  Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36739075/ 3. “Microplastics: a cancer-causing agent for humans and …” (Jindal et al.) — argues MPs as risk for cancer and reviews mechanisms  Link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11925826/ 4. “Worker studies suggest unique liver carcinogenicity potential of polyvinyl chloride microplastics” (Zarus et al.) — occupational exposure / PVC microplastic exposure and liver cancer risk  Link: https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/147717 5. “Exploring the link between microplastics and cancer” (Joseph et al., 2025) — discussion of MPs’ persistence, accumulation, and possible roles in carcinogenesis  Link: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2025/em/d5em00232j 6. “Microplastics and Cancer: Your Questions Answered” (Dana-Farber blog overview) — less technical, useful summary of human/animal evidence to date  Link: https://blog.dana-farber.org/insight/2025/03/microplastics-and-cancer-what-you-need-to-know/ 7. “Microplastics in the Human Body: Exposure, Detection, and …” (Dzierżyński et al., 2024) — includes risk estimates for cancer from MP-bound contaminants  Link: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/16/21/3703 8. “Microplastics: an often-overlooked issue in the transition …” (Cheng et al., 2024) — mentions MP exposure promoting proliferation of skin cancer cells, etc.  Link: https://translational-medicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12967-024-05731-5 9. “Identification and analysis of microplastics in peritumoral and tumor tissues of colorectal cancer” (Pan et al., 2025) — directly detects MPs in human colorectal tumor and peritumoral tissues  Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-98268-6 10. “Investigating the Carcinogenic Potential of Plastic Additives” (Vincoff et al., 2024) — focuses on additives (in plastics) which may mediate carcinogenic risk in plastics including microplastics  Link: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.3c06840
Bro’s been real quiet since the evidence dropped
Did you know that if you’ve made it as far as 70 years old and you go to your JP for a physical, he will tell you that after the age of 65 doctors don’t do exams anymore or blood tests for cancer. No wonder by 2050 or sooner, the number of cancer cases and deaths will rise
