Each year on 4 February, the global community commemorates World Cancer Day, an international observance dedicated to raising awareness, improving education, and catalysing action to address the cancer burden worldwide.
This year marks the second year of the United by Unique campaign, which highlights the importance of a people-centred approach to cancer care — placing individuals, families, and communities at the heart of health systems.
Cancer remains a major cause of mortality worldwide and is the second leading cause of death in the Caribbean, surpassed only by cardiovascular disease. In 2022, the region recorded an estimated 119,000 new cancer cases and more than 66,000 cancer-related deaths. 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% by 2045, underscoring the urgency of sustained and coordinated action.
Several Caribbean countries rank among those with the highest cancer burdens globally for specific cancer sites. Notably, 9 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, 8 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, whilst 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.
Speaking on the occasion of World Cancer Day, CARPHA’s Executive Director Dr Lisa Indar, shared on how CARPHA continues to strengthen capacity through the region, “In 2026, CARPHA will release the Cancer Incidence in the Caribbean, Volume I, a landmark surveillance report presenting cancer incidence data from national cancer registries in 7 Caribbean countries: 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.” Dr Indar added, “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.”
In recent years, Caribbean countries have made notable progress in strengthening cancer control. 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.
Despite these gains, significant challenges remain. Cancer control responses across the region are uneven, with some countries lacking national cancer control plans and access to high-quality surveillance data. 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.
To strengthen cancer surveillance and data-driven decision-making, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) 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 US 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 Organisation (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.
About the Caribbean Hub:
Based at CARPHA Headquarters in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean Hub became operational in 2015 and was formally launched in 2018. It provides technical support to expand the availability, quality, and population coverage of PBCRs through training, research, targeted technical assistance, and advocacy, including the promotion of enhanced data collection and management tools.
About the Cancer Incidence in the Caribbean Volume 1:
The completion of Cancer Incidence in the Caribbean, Volume 1 in December 2025 represents a major milestone for the Caribbean Hub, bringing together, for the first time, comprehensive cancer incidence data from population-based cancer registries in 7 Caribbean countries: Barbados, Bermuda, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad and Tobago. Drawing on ethically approved data submitted by registries for diagnosis years 2000–2020, the report documents progress in national cancer surveillance while revealing significant variations in cancer burden across countries, underscoring the need for tailored prevention and control strategies. It also highlights persistent challenges, including gaps in participation, data quality concerns, limited resources, and policy and capacity constraints, reinforcing the importance of continued regional investment in surveillance strengthening, research, technical support, and advocacy. Dissemination of this inaugural report to key stakeholders will take place in 2026.
CARPHA
