If there’s a trend in cancer data, it’s the growing incidence of cancer in developing nations. India, China, and other East and Central Asian countries account for nearly half of the world’s new cancer cases and deaths.

That’s a big number. More than 14 million people will be diagnosed with cancer in 2016, and 8.2 million of them will die, said Lindsey Torre, an epidemiologist for the American Cancer Society. Torre said the increase in the developing world can be attributed to rapid growth, an aging population and better detection methods. She said people can decrease their risk of cancer by modifying behaviors such as smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol, and also by keeping their weight in check.

Torre recommended several resources for journalists to track cancer data:

• World Health Organization’s GLOBOCAN, for global data.
• American Cancer Society’s Cancer Atlas, with downloadable and sortable data.
• A new American Cancer Society site, with easy-to-use analytical tools, called the Cancer Statistics Center.
• The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, based at the University of Washington.

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