Recent research indicates that more than 30 types of cancer can be prevented with specific lifestyle changes. Given that cancer remains a major health problem and the number of cases is increasing, this information is particularly timely.
Key lifestyle factors identified include smoking, excess weight, alcohol consumption, lack of exercise, poor diet and infections. These findings were drawn from an analysis of US health data, which looked at hundreds of thousands of cancer cases and deaths in the United States in people aged 30 or older in 2019.
Smoking was identified as the main risk factor, responsible for almost a fifth of all cancer cases and almost a third of all cancer-related deaths in the United States. Although the link between smoking and lung cancer is well established, the extent of its impact revealed in the study managed to raise questions, as reported by the Daily Record.
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“Although smoking prevalence has declined substantially over the past several decades, the number of smoking-attributable lung cancer deaths in the United States is alarming. This finding underscores the importance of implementing comprehensive tobacco control policies in every state to promote tobacco cessation, as well as stepping up efforts to increase early detection of lung cancer, when treatment may be most effective,” said Dr. Farhad Islami of the American Cancer Society, who led the study.
The research team analysed representative US population data on cancer incidence, mortality and risk factor prevalence to estimate the proportion and number of cases and deaths due to potentially modifiable risk factors. The study investigated 30 cancer types, excluding non-melanoma skin cancers, the Express reports.
Risk factors included current and past smoking, exposure to secondhand smoke, excessive body weight, alcohol consumption, intake of red and processed meats, and low intake of fruits, vegetables, dietary fiber, and calcium.
The study also highlighted physical inactivity, exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and infections with various viruses, such as hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV), herpes, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and human papillomavirus (HPV).
The results indicated that smoking was the leading cause of risk factor-linked cancer cases, accounting for 344,070 cases or 19.3 percent of all cases. It accounted for 56 percent of all preventable cancers in men (206,550 of 368,600) and 39.9 percent in women (137,520 of 344,740).
The second most important factor was excess body weight (7.6%), followed by alcohol consumption (5.4%), exposure to ultraviolet radiation (4.6%) and physical inactivity (3.1%).
According to a recent study, the proportion of cancer cases caused by potentially modifiable risk factors varies considerably depending on the type of cancer. It was found that 100 percent of cervical cancer and Kaposi sarcoma cases could be attributed to these factors, while only 4.9 percent of ovarian cancer cases could be attributed to them.
More than half of the cases of 19 of the 30 types of cancer evaluated were attributable to these factors.
In addition, more than 80 percent of all skin melanomas and cancers of the anus, throat, lungs and mouth were related to assessed risk factors. Lung cancer had the highest number of cases attributable to assessed risk factors in both men (104,410 cases) and women (97,250), followed by skin melanoma (50,570) and colorectal cancer (44,310).
In men, urinary bladder cancer had the highest number of cases (32,000), while in women, breast (83,840), endometrium (35,790) and colorectal (34,130) cancers were the most common.
The study’s lead author, Dr Ahmedin Jemal, stressed the importance of preventive healthcare and awareness of preventive measures. He said: “These findings demonstrate that there is still a need to increase equitable access to preventive healthcare and awareness of preventive measures. Effective vaccines are available against hepatitis B virus, which causes liver cancer, and HPV, which can cause several types of cancer, including cervical cancer, other anogenital and oropharyngeal cancers.”
She added: “Vaccination at the recommended time can substantially reduce the risk of chronic infection and, consequently, cancers associated with these viruses. Uptake of HPV vaccination in the United States is suboptimal.”
