As the first decade of the 21st century nears an end, the World Health Organization says cancer is poised to overtake heart disease as the world's top killer — mainly because of rising tobacco use in countries like India and China.

In Canada, 2008 saw pathology put under the microscope, as three high-profile public inquiries were held, looking at how the health-care system failed Canadians in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Ontario.

Here are some of the key health stories of the past year: