20 Countries with the Highest Rates of Stomach Cancer in the World

Published on April 25, 2024 at 8:53 am by Laiba Immad in Lists, News

In this article, we will be taking a look at the 20 countries with the highest rates of stomach cancer in the world. If you do not want to learn about the global cancer trends, head straight to the 5 Countries with the Highest Rates of Stomach Cancer in the World.

Overview of the Global Stomach Cancer Treatment Market

The global stomach cancer treatment market was valued at $2.61 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $20.92 billion by 2032, with a noteworthy compounding annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16% over the forecast period. With over a million cases reported globally in 2020, stomach cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death with approximately 800,000 deaths in the same year.

With 26,890 new instances of stomach cancer expected to be reported in 2024 in the US, stomach cancer is a major public health concern in the United States. Growth in the stomach cancer treatment market in North America is anticipated due to the high incidence of stomach cancer in the US and developments in treatment methods such as targeted and immunotherapies.

The drug type, disease indication, administration route, drug class, and distribution channel are some of the characteristics that divide the stomach cancer therapy market. Due to the emphasis on treating these particular illness indications, gastric cancer, and the gastroesophageal junction cancer sector notably retained the biggest market share of 85.47% in 2021.

In the global market for stomach cancer treatments, Novartis AG, Pfizer Inc., Illumina, Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Merck & Co., Inc., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., and Bristol Myers Squibb Company are some of the major companies propelling innovation and development.

Global Cancer Trends and Financial Impacts on Patients

The worldwide oncology market, valued at $208 billion in 2022, grew with the inclusion of cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Reports indicate a strong rise in the market at a CAGR of 12% between 2022 and 2032, resulting in a $628 billion market value at the end of the projection period.

The pharmaceutical sector is an important sector that invests more than $50 billion a year in oncology research and development, demonstrating its unrelenting commitment to the fight against cancer. Immuno-oncology (IO) is also a major force behind the industry pipeline, accounting for about 40% of oncology’s yearly R&D expenditure. This substantial investment demonstrates the industry’s commitment to using immunotherapies to transform the way that cancer is treated and improve patient outcomes.

Although the United States has seen a significant 29% decrease in cancer-related mortality since 1991, mostly due to a rise in the use of cancer medications, Europe offers an advantageous market, as both the number of cancer diagnoses and deaths are rising there. On the other hand, cancer patients all over the world bear heavy financial burdens; the median yearly costs range from $1,730 to $4,727, and they are roughly $976 to $1,170 higher than those of non-cancer patients. Between 22% and 64% of cancer patients experience financial difficulty, which makes them more stressed about their medical expenditures. Low-income and uninsured people are more affected.

Leading Players in the Global Cancer Care Market

Talking about cancer care, certain companies stand out for their innovations and acknowledgeable contributions to the cancer care market. These companies include Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN), BeiGene. Ltd. (NASDAQ:BGNE), and Bristol Meyers Squibb, among others.

In the field of cancer treatment, Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) is a market leader, particularly in stomach cancer. One of their many offerings is the TruSight Oncology 500 Assay, which can identify many sorts of variants from low-quality samples, including microsatellite instability (MSI) and tumor mutational burden (TMB). Furthermore, the TruSight Oncology UMI Reagents lower error rates for identifying low-frequency variations, and their TruSight Tumor 170 assay concurrently targets DNA and RNA variants.

Products from Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) helped support zolbetuximab, a monoclonal antibody that targets CLDN18.2 in stomach cancer, in a critical international phase 3 trial. Because of the FDA’s priority consideration of this trial, zolbetuximab may become the first-ever approved targeted treatment for advanced stomach or gastroesophageal junction cancer. Despite a 2% decline from the previous fiscal year, Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) recorded sales of about $1,115 million in Q4 2023, a 3% rise over Q4 2022, which brings the total revenue for the fiscal year 2023 to $4,497 million. With 79 NovaSeq X instruments shipped in Q4 2023 and 352 instruments shipped for the entire fiscal year 2023, instrument shipments continued to be robust. Illumina also intends to exit GRAIL by the end of Q2 2024, a hint of a major strategic change in the company’s operations.

On the other hand, BeiGene. Ltd. (NASDAQ:BGNE) has also created effective cancer treatments, such as the BTK inhibitor zanubrutinib and the checkpoint inhibitor tislelizumab, which are effective in treating a variety of malignancies, including stomach cancer. A major step toward the development of potent cancer treatments was reached in 2024 when sales of its BTK inhibitor Brukinsa crossed $1.3 billion worldwide.

To develop and promote tislelizumab in significant markets, BeiGene. Ltd. (NASDAQ:BGNE) has grown internationally and formed alliances with companies like Novartis. Novartis has returned all rights to BeiGene for tislelizumab, giving them complete control over the drug’s development and commercialization. In terms of finances, BeiGene. Ltd. (NASDAQ:BGNE)’s sales increased significantly, hitting $2.459 billion in 2023. Nonetheless, net losses of $1.21 billion for 2023 and $882 million for 2022 were declared.

20 Countries with the Highest Rates of Stomach Cancer in the World

A scientist in a lab researching the biology of a cancer cell.

Our Methodology

For Our methodology, we have ranked the countries with the highest rates of stomach cancer in the world based on the stomach cancer prevalence rates per 100,000 people in 2020. Since the data for stomach cancer rates per 100,000 people were separately available for both men and women, we combined the data for both of the genders for a combined stomach cancer rate per 100,000 people. For countries that did not have their women prevalence rates for stomach cancer available, we randomly picked 4 countries which had the rates per 100,000 people available for both men and women and then divided the women’s rates with men’s for these 4 countries. After that we added all these 4 answers together and divided them by the total number of answers. The resulting number was taken as the sample average and was then multiplied by the men’s rates for the countries whose women rates were missing. For the accuracy of data, we relied on NIH.

Here is our list of the 20 countries with the highest rates of stomach cancer in the world.

20. Mozambique

Cancer Rate per 100,000 People: 1.41

Stomach cancer is a major concern in Mozambique, particularly for the elderly. It’s interesting to note that as women age, they appear to be more susceptible to mortality from it than men. Mozambique reported around 25,446 new cases and over 18,014 fatalities from stomach cancer in just 2020.

19. Indonesia

Cancer Rate per 100,000 People: 2.7

Stomach cancer accounted for 2,821 fatalities in Indonesia or 0.17% of all deaths, in 2020. The country ranks 19th among the countries with the highest rate of stomach cancer in the world with an age-adjusted death rate from stomach cancer of 1.28 per 100,000 people. Indonesia spent around $486.9 million in 2016 treating over a million cancer cases, including stomach cancer.

18. Lesotho

Cancer Rate per 100,000 People: 2.96

Lesotho has some of the world’s highest stomach cancer incidence and mortality rates. In 2020, around 2.9 per 100,000 people were affected, with men being 2 to 3 times more likely to suffer from it compared to women. People older than 50 were the most affected.

17. Burkina Faso

Cancer Rate per 100,000 People: 3.94

Burkina Faso has higher than average rates of stomach cancer incidence and mortality worldwide. There were very few facilities (around 2) offering cancer treatment treatments in Burkina Faso as of 2019. In 2018, Burkina Faso saw 8.3% of total stomach cancer deaths.

16. Eritrea

Cancer Rate per 100,000 People: 4.08

Eritrea saw 18.8 cases per annum of colorectal cancer between 2011-2017, which is a relatively low reported incidence. The male-to-female ratio among the patients stood at 1:1.61, with an average age of 57.62 years. Interestingly, around half of the patients were younger than 50 which suggests that more research is necessary.

15. Kuwait

Cancer Rate per 100,000 People: 4.08

The age-adjusted incidence rate of stomach cancer in Kuwait is comparatively low, coming in at 4.08 per 100,000 for both men and women between 1998 and 2004. Kuwait also has one of the lowest age-standardized disability-adjusted life years (DALY) rates for stomach cancer (64.9 per 100,000 people) among the nations analyzed in 2019.

14. Ethiopia

Cancer Rate per 100,000 People: 4.37

Stomach cancer was the primary cause of cancer-related mortality in Ethiopia especially in Addis Ababa, accounting for 131 deaths (13.6%) between 2007 and 2017, placing Ethiopia among countries with the highest rates of stomach cancer in the world. Men and women are affected equally by this burden, with stomach cancer having higher death rates than liver and breast cancer.

13. Sudan

Cancer Rate per 100,000 People: 4.9

In Sudan, cancer accounts for 5% of all fatalities and is the third most common cause of death in the country. According to a study that looked at nearly 33,000 cancer cases in Sudan between 2009-2013, chronic myeloid leukemia and lymphoma were the most common hematological cancers in the country, but stomach cancer stood out as one of the most common solid tumors. 52% of cancer patients were between the ages of 15-54, while 7.2% were older than 55.

12. Saudi Arabia

Cancer Rate per 100,000 People: 5.2

Around 4,066 instances of stomach cancer were reported in Saudi Arabia between 2004 and 2017, making up roughly 3.7% of all cancer cases in the country. Jazan had the lowest rates of stomach cancer, whereas Riyadh, Najran, and the Eastern region had the highest ASIRs. There were an average of 23 cases of stomach cancer each year among Saudi women, with the majority of cases occurring in those 75 years of age and older. In Saudi Arabia, the death rate from stomach cancer was 2.05% for women and 3.29% for males, making KSA stand among the countries with high rates of stomach cancer.

11. Nigeria

Cancer Rate per 100,000 People: 5.6

Nigeria has a high prevalence rate of gastric cancer that makes up 3.5% of all cancers in male Nigerians and accounts for 3% of cancer-related deaths in the country. Research on the epidemiological and histological characteristics of primary gastrointestinal tract malignancies in Nigeria has shown how common gastric cancer is, accounting for 15.6% cancer cases, which is more than expected. Furthermore, a study found that there are 17 incidences of stomach cancer in the area per year.

10. Democratic Republic of Korea

Cancer Rate per 100,000 People 32.28

Stomach cancer was the most frequent cancer type in the Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK), from 1999 to 2018, accounting for 28,078 new cases in 2008 that mostly affected men. The presence of Helicobacter pylori infection is one of the key risk factors, along with smoking and eating behaviors. Stomach cancer ranks fourth among cancer-related deaths in the country, with 4,346 fatalities reported due to stomach cancer in 2020.

9. Belarus

Cancer Rate per 100,000 People: 33.84

Stomach cancer poses a serious threat to public health in Belarus. The country had the highest age-standardized rate of stomach cancer in 2020 with 33.8 cases per 100,000 people.

8. Kazakhstan

Cancer Rate per 100,000 People: 34.68

Kazakhstan’s gastric cancer mortality rate is still a major cause for concern although the cases have seen a decrease. Gastric cancer caused 19,672 fatalities between 2009-2018, with a mean death age of 67.8 years. Trends show that death rates are falling for those under 30 but rising for those in the 70–74 age range. With a decreasing trend over time, the average annual standardized death rate was 13.2 per 100,000 population.

7. Iran

Cancer Rate per 100,000 People: 34.9

The cancer rate per 100,000 people in Iran if 34.9. The prognosis for patients over 70 is poorer than that of patients under 50, with a 1.67-fold increased relative chance of death. With a comparatively poor overall 5-year survival rate of 12.8%, gastric cancer is also the top cause of cancer-related fatalities in Iran, accounting for 16.1% of all cancer-related deaths.

6. China

Cancer Rate per 100,000 People: 41.8

China is the sixth country with the largest incidence of stomach cancer cases globally, accounting for 478,000 cases in 2020. In China, stomach cancer has a substantial financial impact with the the average direct cost per patient estimated at US $9,899, primarily for medical costs. For 79.2% of families, out-of-pocket costs for newly diagnosed patients represent a significant amount of household income, causing financial distress. With 373,789 fatalities from cancer in 2020, stomach cancer is China’s third most common cause of cancer-related deaths.

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