A shocking study says that millions of cancer cases can be prevented.
Do you also feel that we are powerless against cancer? Research has identified several ways in which we can reduce the likelihood of its occurrence.
According to a recent analysis by the World Health Organization (WHO), more than a third of all cancer cases in the world are preventable. Cancers of the lung, stomach and cervix account for almost half of these cases. This was pointed out by the website Science Alert. The study was published in Nature Medicine journal.
This means that millions of cancer deaths each year could be prevented through medical interventions, behavioral changes, reducing occupational hazards or addressing environmental pollution.
“This landmark study represents a comprehensive assessment of preventable cancer worldwide and for the first time includes infectious causes of cancer along with behavioural, environmental and occupational risks,” says Isabelle Soerjomataram, WHO medical epidemiologist and lead author of the analysis. “Addressing these preventable causes represents one of the greatest opportunities to reduce the global burden of cancer.”
The analysis found that by 2022, there would be almost 19 million new cases of cancer. About 38 percent of these diagnoses were related to 30 modifiable risk factors. These included tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, high body mass index (BMI), lack of physical activity, smokeless tobacco (such as chewing tobacco), a traditional stimulant known as areca nut, inadequate breastfeeding, air pollution, ultraviolet radiation, infectious agents and more than a dozen occupational exposures.
The biggest preventable factor linked to cancer? Smoking tobacco. In 2022, it was linked to 15 percent of all cancers. For men, the risk was particularly high. Smoking contributed to 23 percent of all new male cancers worldwide in a given year. However, smoking is not the only cause. Air pollution also plays a role and its impact varies by region.
In East Asia, for example, about 15 percent of all lung cancer cases in women were caused by air pollution. In North Africa and West Asia, meanwhile, about 20 percent of all lung cancer cases in men were caused by air pollution.
After smoking tobacco, the second most significant influenceable lifestyle factor was drinking alcohol. It accounted for 3.2 percent of all new cancer cases—about 700,000 cases. According to researchers’ estimates, smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol account for nearly half (about 48 percent) of all preventable cancers.
The infections, meanwhile, were linked to about 10 percent of new cancer cases. Among women, the highest proportion of preventable cancers was caused by the high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV), which can lead to cervical cancer.
Fortunately, we now have an HPV vaccine that can prevent many of these diseases, but vaccination rates remain low in many parts of the world.
Stomach cancer cases are more common in men and tend to be linked to smoking and infections caused by overcrowding, poor hygiene and poor access to clean water.
“This is the first global analysis to show how much cancer risk comes from preventable causes,” says André Ilbawi, head of WHO’s cancer control team and co-author of the analysis.
“By examining patterns across countries and populations, we can provide governments and individuals with more specific information that will help prevent many cases of cancer before they occur.” Now is the time to roll up our sleeves, because research shows that there are a huge number of things we can do to reduce our risk of many forms of cancer.
“In short, almost 4 out of 10 cancer cases worldwide in 2022 could be preventable by eliminating exposure to the risk factors investigated in this study,” the researchers explain in their paper.
“Ultimately, our results reinforce the call for effective cancer prevention, which requires long-term political commitment and investment tailored to the specific risk profiles of populations worldwide.”
