Belgium cancer diagnoses record 2024

In late July 2026, Belgium’s cancer register announced that 78,697 new cancer cases were diagnosed in 2024, the highest figure on record. The increase of 1.4 % over the previous year was driven mainly by Wallonia (+2.1 %) and Flanders (+1.3 %), while Brussels saw a modest decline. Men accounted for 54.3 % of cases, with prostate, lung and colorectal cancers leading; women were most affected by breast, lung and colorectal tumours. Trends showed a stabilising prostate incidence, a mixed pattern for lung cancer (down among men, up among women), and rising rates of pancreatic, liver, testicular, CNS and non‑melanoma skin cancers.

A follow‑up report a few days later reiterated the same record figure and linked it to a WHO/IARC warning that global new cancer cases could rise to about 35 million per year by 2050 without stronger prevention, early detection and treatment measures. The WHO note highlighted the widening survival gap between high‑ and low‑income countries and called for policies to reduce cancer‑care inequalities.

Together, the two releases show Belgium’s latest national cancer statistics and place them within a broader concern about a looming worldwide surge in cancer incidence.