Cancer now kills twice as many people as heart disease in wealthy countries, Reuters reports.

These are the main conclusions of 2  large findings, published in The Lancet medical journal.

Cancer has already overtaken heart disease as the leading cause of death in wealthy countries. 

Cancer - now second killer globally

Our report found cancer to be the second most common cause of death globally in 2017, accounting for 26% of all deaths. But as (heart disease) rates continue to fall, cancer could likely become the leading cause of death worldwide, within just a few decades,” said Gilles Dagenais, a professor at Quebec’s Laval University in Canada who co-led the work.

Modifiable risks of cardiovascular disease

Around 70% of all cardiovascular cases and deaths are due to modifiable risks such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diet, smoking and other lifestyle factors.

In high-income countries, common treatment with cholesterol-lowering statins and blood-pressure medicines have helped bring rates of heart disease down dramatically in the past few decades.

New global epidemiologic transition

 Scientists said they showed evidence of a new global “epidemiologic transition” between different types of chronic disease. While cardiovascular disease remains, for now, the leading cause of mortality worldwide among middle-aged adults - accounting for 40% of all deaths - that is no longer the case in high-income countries,