New Insights on Cancer Prevention

Feeling a bit helpless when it comes to cancer is quite common, but a fresh study points out several ways to lower the risk of developing it.

A recent analysis from the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that over a third of all cancer cases worldwide could actually be prevented.

Lung, stomach, and cervical cancers account for nearly half of these preventable cases. So, this means that millions of deadly cancer instances each year might be avoided through medical interventions, changes in behavior, reducing risks in the workplace, and addressing environmental hazards.

As Isabelle Soerjomataram, a medical epidemiologist at WHO, points out, “Tackling these preventable causes presents one of the strongest opportunities to lessen the global burden of cancer.”

The analysis indicates that in 2022, around 19 million new cancer cases were reported, with about 38 percent linked to 30 modifiable risk factors.

These risk factors included habits like smoking tobacco, consuming alcohol, having a high body mass index, not exercising enough, using smokeless tobacco, and exposure to pollutants like air pollution and UV radiation. Surprisingly, over a dozen occupational exposures were also contributing factors.

So, what’s the top preventable cause of cancer? Unsurprisingly, it’s tobacco smoking, which was linked to 15 percent of all cancer cases that year.

The situation is particularly dire for men, where smoking was tied to 23 percent of all new cancer diagnoses globally.

Yet, smoking isn’t the sole issue. Air pollution also plays a significant role, with its effects differing by region. For example, about 15 percent of new lung cancer cases in women in East Asia stem from air pollution. In contrast, in Northern Africa and Western Asia, it accounts for roughly 20 percent of lung cancer cases in men.

After tobacco, alcohol came in second among lifestyle factors, responsible for about 3.2 percent of new cancer cases—roughly 700,000 cases.

Infections contributed to around 10 percent of these new cases as well. For women, a significant portion of preventable cancers is due to the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is linked to cervical cancer.

It’s great that there’s now an HPV vaccine available to prevent many related diseases, although coverage is still low in many areas.

Stomach cancer cases tend to be higher among men and are often linked to smoking and various infections, influenced by factors like overcrowding and poor sanitation conditions.

André Ilbawi, the WHO Team Lead for Cancer Control, stated, “By looking at patterns across different countries and populations, we can offer more tailored information to help prevent numerous cancer cases before they occur.”

Now seems like the right moment to take action.

The study can be found in Nature Medicine.