PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — The Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) on Wednesday said cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the Caribbean, surpassed only by cardiovascular disease.

In a statement marking World Cancer Day, being observed under the theme “United by Unique”, CARPHA said that cancer remains a major cause of mortality worldwide and in 2022, the Caribbean region recorded an estimated 119,000 new cancer cases and more than 66,000 cancer-related deaths.

It said driven by population ageing and increasing exposure to key risk factors, the cancer burden in Latin America and the Caribbean is projected to rise by 69 per cent by 2045, underscoring the urgency of sustained and coordinated action.

CARPHA said that several Caribbean countries rank among those with the highest cancer burdens globally for specific cancer sites.

It said notably, nine of the 15 countries worldwide with the highest estimated age-standardised incidence rates (ASRs) for prostate cancer are in the Caribbean, including Guadeloupe, Martinique, Barbados, Puerto Rico, French Guiana, The Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica, with Guadeloupe recording the highest rate globally.

Additionally, eight Caribbean countries are among the 15 with the highest estimated ASR for prostate cancer, including Jamaica, Barbados, Haiti, The Bahamas, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominican Republic, and St Lucia.

Jamaica, The Bahamas and Barbados ranked second, third, and fourth globally, respectively, for cervical cancer mortality.

“This significant cancer burden highlights the critical need for robust cancer control policies and reliable cancer surveillance systems capable of generating high-quality data to track trends, guide priorities and evaluate the impact of cancer prevention and control efforts,” CARPHA said.

CARPHA’s Executive Director, Dr Lisa Indar, said this year, CARPHA will release the Cancer Incidence in the Caribbean, Volume I, a landmark surveillance report presenting cancer incidence data from national cancer registries in seven Caribbean countries, namely Barbados, Bermuda, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad and Tobago.

“This report will provide critical evidence to inform policy, strengthen prevention and control strategies, and advance national and regional cancer surveillance. Through CARPHA’s continued efforts, cancer registration capacity has been strengthened across the region, resulting in improved data quality and more robust evidence to support decision-making,” Dr Indar said.

CARPHA said that in recent years, Caribbean countries have made notable progress in strengthening cancer control. It said several nations have enhanced existing population-based cancer registries (PBCRs) or established new population-wide systems where none previously existed.

PBCRs are a cornerstone of national surveillance systems, enabling the systematic collection of data on cancer incidence, mortality, survival, and prevalence. Currently, 15 Caribbean countries have dedicated national cancer control plans or have incorporated cancer into national noncommunicable disease (NCD) strategies to guide prevention and control efforts.

But CARPHA noted that cancer control responses across the region are uneven, with some countries lacking national cancer control plans and access to high-quality surveillance data. It said variability persists in access to cancer diagnostic and treatment services, screening programmes, while palliative care remains limited, and late-stage diagnosis is still common in several settings.

CARPHA said to strengthen cancer surveillance and data-driven decision-making, it established the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Caribbean Cancer Registry Hub (the Caribbean Hub) in 2015.

Operating under the Global Initiative for Cancer Registry Development (GICR) led by IARC, CARPHA collaborates with key partners, including IARC, the United States National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR), and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO).

“As the region observes World Cancer Day 2026, sustaining and building on the achievements of the Caribbean Hub remains essential to maintaining momentum toward equitable, people-centred and data-informed cancer control, truly United by Unique,” it said.