The worldwide number of cancer cases has risen to an estimated 14 million per year and is expected to rise to 22 million annually in the next two decades.

That’s according to the World Cancer Report 2014 released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the specialized agency of the World Health Organization.

The report says that the global battle against cancer won’t be won with treatment alone and effective preventive measures are urgently needed to prevent the disease.

Professor Bernard Stewart, one of the editors of the report, told UN Radio’s Patrick Maigua that there is a marked increase of cancer attributable to tobacco.

Duration: 4’53”