Diagnosed cases of breast cancer rose by 260 per cent and those of cervical cancer by 20 per cent from 1980 to 2010, with the biggest hikes occurring in developing countries, according to global estimates reported yesterday in The Lancet.

Identified cases of breast cancer around the world rose from around 640,000 in 1980, when 65 per cent occurred in rich countries, to 1.6 million in 2010, of which 51 per cent were among women in developing nations.

Incidence of cervical cancer increased from 378,000 annually to 454,000 during this period, according to the survey of 187 countries. Breast cancer killed 425,000 women in 2010, of whom 68,000 were aged 15 to 49 in developing countries.

Mortality from cervical cancer has been declining, but still killed 200,000 last year, 46,000 of them women aged 15-49 in the poorer economies.

The rise in incidence stems in part from better diagnosis but also from ageing, as a bulge in the world’s population reaches the age when the risk of cancer increases.

The analysis is compiled by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle.