Cancer is a scourge to society.
Although great strides have been made in treating the disease, global statistics paint a dire picture.
In 2022 (the most recent year for which data is available), there will be an estimated 20 million new cases of cancer and 9.7 million deaths.
But there is reason to be hopeful: by making some fundamental lifestyle changes, you can reduce your risk of contracting this deadly disease.
A new study highlights this point, identifying six lifestyle factors that account for four in 10 cancer cases and nearly half of cancer deaths in adults aged 30 and over.
A study of Americans published in the journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians found that modifiable risk factors, including smoking, being overweight, alcohol consumption, lack of physical activity, diet, and infections, were responsible for 713,340 cancer cases and 262,120 cancer deaths in 2019.
Smoking is by far the largest risk factor, contributing to approximately 20% of all cancer cases and 30% of all cancer deaths.
Smoking is by far the leading risk factor, accounting for approximately 20% of all cancer cases.
Getty Images
It comes days after analysis by Cancer Research UK found that smoking-related cancers have reached a record high of 160 new cases per day in the UK.
“Despite significant declines in smoking rates over the past few decades, the number of smoking-attributable lung cancer deaths in the United States remains alarming,” said Farhad Islami, M.D., senior scientific director for Cancer Disparities Research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the new report. “These findings underscore the importance of implementing comprehensive tobacco control policies in states to encourage smoking cessation and strengthening efforts to increase screening to detect lung cancer earlier, when it may be more effective to treat.”
“Interventions to maintain healthy weight and dietary habits could also significantly reduce the number of cancer cases and deaths in the country, especially given the increased incidence of several types of cancer associated with excess weight among younger people.”
How did the researchers reach their conclusion?
In this study, researchers used nationally representative data on cancer incidence and mortality, and prevalence of risk factors to estimate the proportion and number of cancer cases and deaths attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors overall (excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer) and for 30 cancer types.
These risk factors include smoking (current and past), passive smoking, excess body weight, alcohol consumption, consumption of red and processed meats, inadequate intake of fruits and vegetables, dietary fiber, and dietary calcium, physical inactivity, ultraviolet light (UV), and infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Helicobacter pylori, hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8, also known as Kaposi’s sarcoma herpesvirus), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and human papillomavirus (HPV).
The findings showed that smoking had the highest population attributable fraction (PAF) or proportion of cancer cases attributable to risk factors within a population (344,070 cases, 19.3% of all cases), contributing 56.0% of all potentially preventable cancers in men (206,550 of 368,600 cases) and 39.9% in women (137,520 of 344,740 cases). Overweight was the second largest PAF (7.6%), followed by alcohol consumption (5.4%), UV exposure (4.6%), and physical inactivity (3.1%).
By cancer type, the proportion of cases caused by potentially modifiable risk factors was 100% for cervical cancer and Kaposi’s sarcoma (a rare type of cancer that affects the skin and mouth), 4.9% for ovarian cancer, and greater than 50% for 19 of the 30 cancer types evaluated.
In addition to cervical cancer and Kaposi’s sarcoma, more than 80% of cutaneous melanoma (92.2%), anal cancer (94.2%), laryngeal cancer (89.9%), lung and bronchus cancer (lung; 88.2%), pharyngeal cancer (87.4%), tracheal cancer (85%), esophageal cancer (85.4%), and oral cavity cancer (83.7%) were attributable to the assessed risk factors. Lung cancer was the most common cause of cancer attributable to the assessed risk factors in both men (104,410 cases) and women (97,250 cases), followed by cutaneous melanoma (50,570 cases), colorectal cancer (44,310 cases), and bladder cancer (32,000 cases) in men, and breast cancer (83,840 cases), uterine cancer (35,790 cases), and colorectal cancer (34,130 cases) in women.
Consumption of red and processed meat was highlighted as a risk factor
Getty Images
“These findings highlight the need for equitable access to preventive health care and continued increased awareness about prevention measures. Effective vaccines are available for the hepatitis B virus, which causes liver cancer, and HPV, which can cause several types of cancer, including cervical and other anogenital and oropharyngeal cancers,” added Ahmedin Jemal, MD, senior vice president of Surveillance and Health Equity Science at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the study.
“Vaccination at the recommended time can significantly reduce the risk of chronic infection and, therefore, the risk of cancers associated with these viruses. HPV vaccination coverage in the United States is suboptimal.”
The second line of defense against cancer is identifying the signs of cancer.
According to the NHS, symptoms that require medical attention include:
Sudden appearance of a lump on the body Unexplained bleeding Changes in bowel habits
