(MENAFN- AFP) One in two British people will develop cancer at some point in their lives, according to a new forecast by Cancer Research UK released on Wednesday.
The forecast replaces a previous estimate that one in three would suffer cancer, which the charity found to be an underestimate.
Age was the biggest risk factor for cancer, with other influences including smoking, obesity, diet, tanning and sunburn and lack of exercise, according to the study published in the British Journal of Cancer.
"We're living longer and that means we're more likely to develop a range of age-related health issues," said Cancer Research UK chief executive Harpal Kumar.
"We need to plan ahead to make sure the NHS is fit to cope. If the NHS doesn't act and invest now, we will face a crisis in the future - with outcomes from cancer going backwards."
The death rate from cancer was likely to remain the same, the study found, with one quarter of deaths caused by cancer.
But the charity said there was an urgent need to increase public health and National Health Service cancer services to cope with a growing, aging population.
The study comes as the funding difficulties of the already-strained NHS emerges as a key issue in Britain's election campaign ahead of a vote in May.
Kumar said that there would never be a "single magic bullet" that cures all 200 types of cancers, but that earlier diagnosis was important to improving outcomes.
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