The World Health Organization warns of a "dangerous jump" in cancer cases by 2050

The World Health Organization's cancer agency warned on Thursday that the number of new cancer cases will rise to more than 35 million in 2050.

Tobacco, alcohol, obesity and air pollution are major factors in the estimated rise, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reported.

“More than 35 million new cancer cases are expected to occur in 2050,” the statement said , an increase of 77% from about 20 million cases diagnosed in 2022. The rapidly increasing global cancer burden reflects population aging and growth, as well as Changes in people's exposure to risk factors, many of which are linked to social and economic development.

The World Health Organization said that the most developed countries are expected to record the largest increases in case numbers, with an additional 4.8 million new cases expected in 2050 compared to 2022 estimates.

But in percentage terms, countries at the lower end of the Human Development Index (HDI) used by the United Nations would see the largest increase, at 142%.

Medium-term countries are expected to record an increase of 99%.

"Similarly, cancer deaths in these countries are expected to almost double in 2050," the WHO said.

“The impact of this increase will not be felt equally across countries with different levels of the Human Development Index,” said Freddie Bray, head of the Cancer Surveillance Branch at the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Discover how cancer accelerates memory loss in some

In rare cases of cancer, the patient's immune system may begin to attack the brain, leading to rapid memory loss, but how this happens has remained unknown to scientists until now.

A new study, published in the journal Cell on Wednesday, found that some tumors release a virus-like protein that can trigger an out-of-control immune system to destroy brain cells.

Rapidly escalating symptoms including memory loss, behavioral changes, loss of coordination and even seizures are part of a condition called anti-Ma2 paraneoplastic neurological syndrome.

Researchers say that this rare neurological disease may occur in one in every 10,000 patients with cancer.

While its exact symptoms may vary between individuals, they all involve rapid immune reactions against the nervous system that can quickly be debilitating.

Researchers say that most patients may experience these neurological symptoms even before they know they have cancer. Pointing out that the symptoms are caused by the immune system suddenly targeting certain proteins in the brain, including a protein called PNMA2.

When the researchers examined the protein structure using advanced microscopy, they found that many PNMA2 proteins can spontaneously organize themselves into 12-sided complexes that resemble the outer envelopes of some viruses.

The team found that since the main function of the immune system is to attack viruses, the virus-like structure of PNMA2 makes it vulnerable to targeting.

In mouse experiments, researchers found that the immune system attacks PNMA2 only when it is assembled into this virus-like structure.

The researchers also noted that in rare cases, cancer cells in other parts of the body begin to produce the PNMA2 protein, which is normally only made in the brain.

In these cases, the body's immune system forms antibodies that direct cells to attack this protein.

Once the immune system is activated to target this protein, it also targets parts of the brain that naturally produce PNMA2, such as areas of the brain involved in memory, learning, and movement.

In further research, scientists hope to understand which aspect of the immune response in these patients is causing cognitive decline: the antibodies themselves, the immune cells that make their way to the brain, or a combination of the two.

The researchers say these findings may lead to ways to prevent antibodies from reaching the brain in cancer patients with neurological symptoms.