Around four million people worldwide die prematurely every year from cancer and this figure is expected to increase to six million by 2025, two major organisations have warned.

Premature death from cancer refers to people aged between 30 and 69.

According to the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), if urgent action is taken to raise awareness and develop strategies to deal with the disease, an estimated 1.5 million of these premature deaths could be saved in the future.

"The estimate of 1.5 million lives lost per year to cancer that could be prevented must serve to galvanise our efforts in implementing the World Health Organisation's ‘25 by 25' target," said Dr Christopher Wild, director of the IARC.

The '25 by25' target aims to reduce premature deaths due to non-communicable diseases, such as cancer, by 25% by 2025.

"There is now a need for a global commitment to help drive advancements in policy and encourage implementation of comprehensive national cancer control plans. If we are to succeed in this, we have a collective responsibility to support low and middle income countries who are tackling a cancer epidemic with insufficient resources," Dr Wild commented.

Meanwhile, according to UICC chief executive, Cary Adams, these latest figures ‘reveal the fundamental human value' of achieving the target of 1.5 million fewer deaths.

"This target is equal to the entire population of Philadelphia, Auckland, Barelona or Maputo each and every year," he explained.

The UICC and IARC made their comments to mark World Cancer Day (February 4).