According to a new study, half of all fatalities and one in four cancer occurrences may be prevented.
Researchers discovered that they were related to lifestyle choices we may make, such as quitting smoking, drinking alcohol, and exercising insufficiently.
Researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS) examined data for thirty distinct cancer types in US persons over thirty in 2019.
A review of the number of cases and deaths as well as any associations with “modifiable risk factors” was conducted. These included:
- Cigarette smoking (current and former)
- Secondhand smoke
- Excess body weight
- Alcohol consumption
- Consumption of red and processed meat
- Low consumption of fruits and vegetables, dietary fibre, and dietary calcium
- Physical inactivity
- Ultraviolet (UV) radiation
- Infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Helicobacter pylori, hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), human herpes virus-8 (HHV-8; also called Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and human papillomavirus (HPV)
The team discovered that the aforementioned factors could be responsible for approximately half of the deaths (262,120) and 40% of all cases (713,340).
According to analysis, smoking accounted for the largest percentage of instances associated with it (19.3%, or 344,070 cases).
For men, cigarettes were a contributing factor in 56% (206,550 out of 368,600) of all potentially avoidable cancer cases, and for women, they were a factor in 39.9% (137,520 out of 344,740).
The second-highest risk factor (7.6%) was being overweight, with drinking (5.4%), UV radiation exposure (4.6%), and physical inactivity (3.1%) coming next.
Regarding the specific type of cancer, the percentage of cases that might be changed varied from 100% for soft tissue cancers like Kaposi sarcoma and cervical cancer to 4.9% for ovarian cancer.
For 19 out of the 30 cancer types that were analysed, it was more than 50%.
Cervical cancer and Kaposi sarcoma notwithstanding, these risk factors were responsible for over 80% of all skin melanomas (92.2%) as well as malignancies of the anus (94.2%), larynx (89.9%), lung (88.2%), pharynx (87.3%), trachea (85.6%), oesophagus (85.4%), and oral cavity (83.7%).
Infections accounted for approximately 3.5% of all cancer cases and deaths. The highest number of cases attributable to evaluated risk factors was lung cancer (104,410 cases in men and 97,250 cases in women), followed by skin melanoma (50,570), bowel cancer (44,310), and urinary bladder cancer (32,000) in men, and breast (83,840), corpus uteri (35,790), and bowel (34,130) in women.
The greatest percentage of cases (1.8%) and deaths (1.2%) were caused by HPV.
“The number of lung cancer deaths attributable to cigarette smoking in the United States is alarming,” stated lead author Dr. Farhad Islami, senior scientific director, cancer disparity research, American Cancer Society. “This is despite considerable declines in smoking prevalence during the past few decades.”
This research highlights the significance of enacting comprehensive tobacco control laws in every state to encourage quitting smoking and to step up efforts to raise lung cancer screening rates in order to discover the disease early, when treatment may be more successful.
“Interventions to help maintain healthy body weight and diet can also substantially reduce the number of cancer cases and deaths in the country, especially given the increasing incidence of several cancer types associated with excess body weight, particularly in younger individuals.”
The senior author of the study and senior vice president of surveillance and health equity science at the American Chemical Society, Dr. Ahmedin Jemal, remarked, “These findings show there is a continued need to increase equitable access to preventive health care and awareness about preventive measures.”
Published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, the results were made public.
The most common cancers by age
WOMEN
AGE: 0-14
- Most common cancer: Leukaemia
- Symptoms: Fatigue (tiredness that lasts a long time and doesn’t improve with rest), bruising and bleeding more easily, or bleeding that takes longer to stop, infections that are more frequent, severe, or last longer, fever (high temperature), weight loss that is unexplained, swollen lymph nodes (glands in your neck, armpit and groin), breathlessness, feeling generally unwell
AGE: 15-24
- Most common cancer: Skin cancer
- Symptoms: Small bumps or growths on the skin, changing moles
AGE: 25-49, 50-74 and 75+
- Most common cancer: Breast
- Symptoms: A new lump or thickening in your breast or armpit, a change in size, shape or feel of your breast, skin changes in the breast such as puckering, dimpling, a rash or redness of the skin, fluid leaking from the nipple in a woman who isn’t pregnant or breastfeeding, changes in the position of the nipple
MEN
AGE: 0-14
- Most common cancer: Leukaemia
- Symptoms: Fatigue (tiredness that lasts a long time and doesn’t improve with rest), bruising and bleeding more easily, or bleeding that takes longer to stop, infections that are more frequent, severe, or last longer, fever (high temperature), weight loss that is unexplained, swollen lymph nodes (glands in your neck, armpit and groin), breathlessness, feeling generally unwell
AGE: 15-24
- Most common cancer: Germ cell tumours
- Symptoms: Depends on where the tumour develops – but usually, it starts with a lump that can be felt
AGE: 25-49
- Most common cancer: Testicular
- Symptoms: A swelling or lump, an increase in the firmness of a testicle, a difference in appearance between one testicle and the other, a dull ache or sharp pain in your testicles or scrotum, which may come and go, a feeling of heaviness in your scrotum
AGE: 50-74 & 75+
- Most common cancer: Prostate
- Symptoms: Needing to pee more frequently, often during the night, needing to rush to the toilet, difficulty in starting to pee (hesitancy), straining or taking a long time while peeing, weak flow, feeling that your bladder has not emptied fully, blood the in urine or semen
Although the US was the study’s primary focus, there were 18.1 million new cases of cancer worldwide in 2020, according to Cancer Research UK (CRUK), indicating that the disease is a global issue.
Breast, lung, bowel, and prostate are the four most prevalent types worldwide, making for over four out of every ten occurrences.
Worldwide, cancer claimed the lives of about 10 million individuals in 2020.
More than 40% of cancer-related deaths were caused by the most frequent causes, which were the stomach, liver, colon, and lungs.
By 2040, CRUK predicts that there will be 28 million new cases annually.
How to reduce your chance of cancer
Not all cancers can be prevented, but you can do things to reduce your risk. This includes:
Not smoking
Not smoking is the best thing you can do to reduce your risk of cancer. Harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke affect the entire body, not just our lungs.
Keep a healthy weight
Being a healthy weight has many health benefits, including reducing cancer risk.
Have a healthy, balanced diet
Eating a well-balanced diet consisting of healthy food and drink can reduce your risk of cancer.
Aim to have plenty of fruit and vegetables, wholegrain foods high in fibre and healthy proteins, and cut down on processed and red meat, alcohol and high-calorie foods and drinks.
Enjoy the sun safely
Being safe in the sun reduces the risk of skin cancer. Too much UV radiation from the sun or sunbeds damages our skin cells.
When the sun is strong, take extra care to protect your skin- spend time in the shade, cover up with clothing, and use sunscreen.
Cut back on alcohol
Reducing your alcohol intake lowers your risk of many types of cancer.
Source: Cancer Research UK
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