Cancer will be the number-one cause of death in the world by 2010, and the number of global cancer cases and deaths will more than double by 2030, a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) predicts.

The Associated Press reported Dec. 9 that the number of cancer diagnoses has steadily risen globally and is predicted to reach 12 million this year, with cancer deaths reaching 7 million, according to the WHO report. WHO expects increases of one percent annually in cancer cases and deaths in the coming decades, with a projected 27 million cancer cases and 17 million deaths reported annually by 2030.

Researchers said that better forms of cancer diagnosis, decreases in infectious diseases, the world's expanding population, and increased tobacco use in developing countries have all contributed to the upward trend in cancer cases. WHO said that the largest increases in cancer rates and deaths are likely to come in China, India and Russia; almost half (40 percent) of the world's smokers now live in China and India.

"Few are aware that cancer already kills more people in poor countries than HIV, malaria and tuberculosis combined," said Douglas Blayney, president-elect of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. "And if current smoking trends continue, the problem will get significantly worse."

WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer will present the report next week at a news conference with officials from the American Cancer Society, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and the National Cancer Institute of Mexico.