Breast and cervical cancers continue to fuel the primary health burden across Africa, standing out as the top drivers of incident cancer cases on the continent.
Breast cancer ranks highest among all diagnoses, accounting for an estimated 267,000 cases, while cervical cancer closely follows as the second most prevalent type, recording 253,000 cases.
Together, these female-predominant conditions significantly outweigh other prominent malignancies in terms of total volume.
Beyond gynaecological and breast health issues, prostate cancer emerges as the third most common form overall, with 97,000 incident cases recorded.
Liver cancer holds the fourth spot with 94,000 cases, and colorectal cancer ranks fifth, contributing an additional 89,000 cases to the total burden.
When examining the health crisis among men, a significant concentration of diagnoses falls into a small group of specific diseases.
Four primary cancer types account for 44.8% of the total male cancer burden across the continent: prostate, liver, colorectal, and lung, tracheal, or bronchus cancers.
These findings highlight how a select group of distinct disease types continues to drive the majority of new diagnoses across African populations.
