Breast Cancer Patients in Pakistan Face a 111-Day Delay Before Treatment Begins

Women diagnosed with breast cancer in Pakistan are waiting an average of 111.5 days before starting treatment, one of the longest delays highlighted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its Global Status Report on Cancer 2026.

The report warns that cancer care is becoming increasingly unequal, with low- and middle-income countries facing serious gaps in diagnosis, medicines, radiotherapy, palliative care and financial protection.

According to WHO, the average treatment delay for breast cancer patients in Pakistan is far higher than in many high-income countries, where treatment usually begins within two to four weeks.

The organization said delays in diagnosis and treatment remain among the biggest barriers to improving cancer survival in resource-limited settings.

Cancer affected 20.6 million people globally in 2024, including 19.5 million new cases excluding non-melanoma skin cancer, and caused nearly 10 million deaths.

WHO expects annual new cancer cases to rise to 35 million by 2050, while one in five people worldwide is likely to develop cancer during their lifetime.

The report said cancer has become a major cause of premature death. In 2021, it was the leading cause of premature mortality in 41 countries, the second leading cause in 37 countries and the third leading cause in 47 countries.

Only 12 countries are on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal target of cutting premature cancer mortality by one-third by 2030, while 48 countries are seeing it rise.

WHO identified tobacco use, obesity, physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, human papillomavirus, and environmental and occupational exposures as key preventable causes of cancer.

The organization estimated that nearly 40 percent of cancers can be prevented through evidence-based public health measures.

WHO urged governments to move beyond policy commitments and invest in cancer control programs covering prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, palliative care, and cancer surveillance.

Without faster implementation, the report warned, low- and middle-income countries will face the sharpest increase in cancer cases and deaths in the coming decades.