Almost 40% of cancers in the world could be prevented

The World Health Organization (WHO) and its International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have highlighted that almost Four out of 10 cancer cases are due to preventable causesaccording to the results of a global study that analyzes the involvement of 30 risk factors in the disease during 2022.

The research, published in Nature Medicinecollect that 7.1 million (37.8%) of the 18.7 million diagnosed cancer cases in adults in 185 countries throughout 2022 were related to preventable causes.

Based on this, the WHO and IARC have called on the population and governments to become aware of the importance of acting against known risk factors that can be reduced.

The work takes into consideration 30 preventable risk factorswhich include tobacco, alcohol, body mass index (BMI), and environmental exposures to pollution or ultraviolet radiationas well as, for the first time, nine infectious agents that cause cancer.

By examining the relationship of these 30 factors with new diagnoses in 2022, the study reveals that tobacco is the main preventable causebeing responsible for 3.3 million caseswhich represents 15.1 percent. After tobacco there are infectionsresponsible for 10.2 percent (2.2 million)and the alcohol consumptionrelated to the 3.2 percent (700,000 cases).

“This highlights where prevention efforts could have the greatest impact,” said the deputy head of the IARC Cancer Surveillance Unit, Isabelle Soerjomataram, during a virtual press conference in which the main conclusions of the research were presented.

Lung, stomach and cervical cancers represented almost half of all preventable cancer cases worldwide, with 1.8 million, 784,073 and 662,044 attributable diagnoses, respectively.

He lung cancer was mainly related to smoking and air pollutionwhile that of stomach was largely attributed to the infection Helicobacter pylori and that of cervix to human papillomavirus (HPV).

In relation to the findings on the role of infectious agents as causes of cancer, the study points to the “significant potential” that infection control strategies and vaccination would have for an equitable reduction in the global incidence of cancer.

among womenthe largest proportion of preventable cancers linked to high-risk HPV. Between the menhighlights the link between stomach cancers and Helicobacter pylorias well as between liver cancers and hepatitis B and C viruses.

More preventable cases among men

The number of preventable cancer cases was considerably higher in men, a total of 2.7 millionwhich represents 45.4 percent of new diagnoses in this group. Meanwhile, in women was 2.7 million29.7 percent of the total cases in the group.

In men, the Smoking accounted for approximately 23 percent of all new cancer casesfollowed by infections with nine percent and alcohol with four percent. Among women, infections, primarily HPV, accounted for 11 percent of all new cancer cases, followed by smoking at six percent and high body mass index at three percent.

The study reveals considerable differences between regions in the number of preventable cancers. While for men the greatest burden is observed in East Asiawhere in some countries almost 70 percent of cancers were preventable, in the case of women the greatest burden was observed in the Sub-Saharan Africawhere more than 40 percent of cancers in the region were attributable to the risk factors studied.

Smoking predominated as the main preventable cause in men, ranking as the majority factor in 126 of the 185 countries analyzed in the study. In the case of women, infections rank first in 141 countries.

“This notable difference reflects different epidemiological patterns and cultural and social norms, and underlines why gender-specific prevention strategies are essential to reduce the burden of cancer,” explained Isabelle Soerjomataram.

Call to action

“On World Cancer Day, we remember that cancer affects almost every family in the world. A cancer diagnosis is life-changing, but experiences differ greatly between and within countries. For a privileged few, access and innovation drive survival rates above 70 percent. But for too many people, cancer remains a death sentence, often compounded by devastating social and economic hardship. Today we are here to celebrate good news based on solid scientific data: many cancers can be prevented“said the head of the WHO Cancer Control Team, Andre Ilbawi.

In this way, Ilbawi highlighted that the results of this study should serve to empower communities and governments and help them understand the best way to prevent cancer in their context.

Likewise, he recalled that prevention actions must be communicated carefully, focusing on risk reduction and without making people feel guilty.

“Blaming cancer patients (for their situation) harms their mental healthdelays care and shortens life expectancy,” he stated.