South Africa

Source: Globocan 2020

Number of new cases in 2020, both sexes, all ages Geography

Breast
15 491 (14.3%)

Prostate
13 152 (12.2%)
Other cancers
52 519 (48.6%) Cervix uteri
10 702 (9.9%)

Lung
8 950 (8.3%)

Colorectum
7 354 (6.8%)

Total: 108 168

Number of new cases in 2020, males, all ages Numbers at a glance

Total population

59 308 690
Prostate
13 152 (25.8%)

Other cancers
23 449 (45.9%) Number of new cases
Lung

108 168
6 144 (12%)

Colorectum
3 748 (7.3%)

Number of deaths
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma Kaposi sarcoma

56 802
2 073 (4.1%) 2 493 (4.9%)

Total: 51 059

Number of new cases in 2020, females, all ages

Number of prevalent cases (5-year)

Breast
15 491 (27.1%)
262 455
Other cancers
22 279 (39%)
Data source and methods

Incidence
Corpus uteri Cervix uteri Country-specific data source: National Cancer Registry of
2 225 (3.9%) 10 702 (18.7%) South Africa, Eastern Cape Province Cancer Registry
Method: Estimated from national mortality estimates by
modelling, using mortality:incidence ratios derived from
Lung Colorectum
2 806 (4.9%) 3 606 (6.3%)
cancer registry data in neighbouring countries

Total: 57 109 Mortality

Country-specific data source: National (WHO)
Summary statistic 2020
Method: National rates projected to 2020

Males Females Both sexes Prevalence

Population 29 216 012 30 092 678 59 308 690 Computed using sex-; site- and age-specific incidence to
Number of new cancer cases 51 059 57 109 108 168 1-;3- and 5-year prevalence ratios from Nordic countries for
the period (2006-2015), and scaled using Human
Age-standardized incidence rate (World) 242.1 194.2 209.5
Development Index (HDI) ratios.
Risk of developing cancer before the age of 75 years (%) 23.6 18.7 20.7
Number of cancer deaths 27 571 29 231 56 802
Age-standardized mortality rate (World) 132.7 100.3 111.7
Risk of dying from cancer before the age of 75 years (%) 13.9 10.4 11.8
5-year prevalent cases 117 857 144 598 262 455
Top 5 most frequent cancers excluding non-melanoma skin cancer Prostate Breast Breast
(ranked by cases) Lung Cervix uteri Prostate
Colorectum Colorectum Cervix uteri
Kaposi sarcoma Lung Lung
Non-Hodgkin Corpus uteri Colorectum
lymphoma

The Global Cancer Observatory - All Rights Reserved - March, 2021. Page 1
 South Africa
Source: Globocan

Incidence, Mortality and Prevalence by cancer site

New cases Deaths 5-year prevalence (all ages)

Cancer Number Rank (%) Cum.risk Number Rank (%) Cum.risk Number Prop. (per 100 000)
Breast 15 491 1 14.3 5.60 4 664 3 8.2 1.74 47 818 158.90
Prostate 13 152 2 12.2 7.87 3 896 4 6.9 2.27 39 863 136.44
Cervix uteri 10 702 3 9.9 3.58 5 870 2 10.3 2.10 26 486 88.01
Lung 8 950 4 8.3 2.21 7 730 1 13.6 1.94 9 709 16.37
Kaposi sarcoma 3 984 5 3.7 0.50 723 17 1.3 0.09 11 010 18.56
Colon 3 657 6 3.4 0.86 2 053 7 3.6 0.47 8 293 13.98
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma 3 500 7 3.2 0.58 1 797 9 3.2 0.32 9 630 16.24
Oesophagus 3 323 8 3.1 0.80 3 176 5 5.6 0.78 3 555 5.99
Rectum 3 232 9 3.0 0.72 1 545 10 2.7 0.34 7 934 13.38
Liver 2 435 10 2.3 0.52 2 285 6 4.0 0.50 2 805 4.73
Corpus uteri 2 225 11 2.1 1.02 612 20 1.1 0.26 6 768 22.49
Bladder 2 104 12 1.9 0.49 801 16 1.4 0.18 5 348 9.02
Pancreas 2 029 13 1.9 0.46 1 982 8 3.5 0.46 1 685 2.84
Lip, oral cavity 1 933 14 1.8 0.45 814 15 1.4 0.20 4 716 7.95
Leukaemia 1 922 15 1.8 0.35 1 458 12 2.6 0.27 5 036 8.49
Melanoma of skin 1 777 16 1.6 0.37 480 22 0.85 0.11 4 781 8.06
Stomach 1 744 17 1.6 0.39 1 484 11 2.6 0.33 2 348 3.96
Ovary 1 471 18 1.4 0.56 974 13 1.7 0.39 3 559 11.83
Kidney 1 333 19 1.2 0.28 622 19 1.1 0.14 3 601 6.07
Thyroid 1 305 20 1.2 0.24 146 28 0.26 0.04 4 023 6.78
Multiple myeloma 1 253 21 1.2 0.28 940 14 1.7 0.22 2 840 4.79
Larynx 878 22 0.81 0.22 524 21 0.92 0.14 2 253 3.80
Brain, central nervous system 830 23 0.77 0.16 691 18 1.2 0.15 2 095 3.53
Hodgkin lymphoma 661 24 0.61 0.09 156 27 0.27 0.03 2 233 3.77
Oropharynx 497 25 0.46 0.11 272 23 0.48 0.07 1 170 1.97
Testis 491 26 0.45 0.14 79 32 0.14 0.03 1 764 6.04
Anus 465 27 0.43 0.09 130 29 0.23 0.02 1 110 1.87
Vulva 388 28 0.36 0.12 166 26 0.29 0.05 1 162 3.86
Gallbladder 343 29 0.32 0.06 261 25 0.46 0.04 386 0.65
Mesothelioma 296 30 0.27 0.08 270 24 0.48 0.08 323 0.54
Salivary glands 221 31 0.20 0.05 93 31 0.16 0.02 617 1.04
Penis 211 32 0.20 0.10 71 34 0.12 0.03 581 1.99
Hypopharynx 193 33 0.18 0.05 78 33 0.14 0.02 305 0.51
Nasopharynx 188 34 0.17 0.03 129 30 0.23 0.03 519 0.88
Vagina 187 35 0.17 0.07 58 35 0.10 0.02 462 1.54
All cancer sites 108 168 - - 20.65 56 802 - - 11.81 262 455 442.5

Age-standardized (World) incidence rates per sex, top 10 cancers

Males Females

Prostate 68.3

Breast 52.6

Lung 29.6 10.0

Cervix uteri 35.3

Colorectum 17.6 12.5

Oesophagus 9.5 4.9

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma 7.8 4.6

Kaposi sarcoma 8.0 4.4

Liver 6.9 3.1

Bladder 8.0 1.9

80 60 40 20 0 20 40 60 80
ASR (World) per 100 000

Age-standardized (World) incidence and mortality rates, top 10 cancers

Incidence Mortality

Prostate 68.3 22.1

Breast 52.6 16.0

Cervix uteri 35.3 19.6

Lung 18.3 15.8

Colorectum 14.6 7.5

Corpus uteri 8.0 2.2

Oesophagus 6.8 6.5

Kaposi sarcoma 6.1 1.1

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma 6.0 3.2

Ovary 5.1 3.4

80 60 40 20 0 20 40 60 80
ASR (World) per 100 000

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