More than 30 types of cancer could potentially be avoided by making certain lifestyle changes, new research suggests. Cancer remains a significant health issue with research indicating that the overall number of cases continues to rise.
While leading a healthy lifestyle is advised to reduce the risk of illness, it appears that certain factors and habits may have a larger impact on cancer development than previously thought. Scientists from the American Cancer Society have pinpointed common habits that contribute to four out of ten cancer cases in the United States. These same factors were also associated with about half of all cancer deaths in the country, according to research published last week in the CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
The identified common factors include cigarette smoking, excess body weight, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, poor diet, and infections. To reach these conclusions, researchers analysed American health data, examining hundreds of thousands of reports of cancer cases and deaths among those aged over 30 in the US in 2019.
Cigarette smoking emerged as the most significant risk factor, accounting for nearly 20 per cent of all cancer cases and 30 per cent of all cancer deaths in the United States. Smoking has long been known to be one of the main causes of lung cancer, but this finding still surprised researchers, reports the Daily Record.
“Despite considerable declines in smoking prevalence during the past few decades, the number of lung cancer deaths attributable to cigarette smoking in the United States is alarming. This finding underscores the importance of implementing comprehensive tobacco control policies in each state to promote smoking cessation, as well as heightened efforts to increase screening for early detection of lung cancer, when treatment could be more effective,” stated Dr Farhad Islami, of the American Cancer Society and the study’s lead author.
The research team utilised data representative of the American population on cancer incidence, mortality, and risk factor prevalence to estimate the proportion and number of cases and deaths attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors. The study examined 30 types of cancer, with the exclusion of non-melanoma skin cancers.
These risk factors encompassed current and former cigarette smoking, exposure to secondhand smoke, excess body weight, alcohol intake, consumption of red and processed meats, low intake of fruits and vegetables, dietary fibre and calcium.
Additionally, the study highlighted physical inactivity, exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and infection with several viruses, including hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV), herpes, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and human papillomavirus (HPV).
Results revealed that cigarette smoking was responsible for the largest proportion of cancer cases attributable to risk factors in the population, accounting for 344,070 cases or 19.3 per cent of all cases. It contributed to 56 per cent of all potentially preventable cancers in men (206,550 of 368,600) and 39.9 per cent in women (137,520 of 344,740).
Excess body weight was the second largest contributor at 7.6 per cent, followed by alcohol consumption at 5.4 per cent. UV radiation exposure accounted for 4.6 per cent and physical inactivity for 3.1 per cent.
When broken down by cancer type, the proportion of cases caused by potentially modifiable risk factors ranged from 100 per cent for cervical cancer and Kaposi sarcoma to 4.9 per cent for ovarian cancer, with more than half of the cases for 19 of the 30 evaluated cancer types being attributable to these factors.
Furthermore, over 80 per cent of all skin melanomas and cancers of the anus, throat, lungs, and mouth were attributable to evaluated risk factors. Lung cancer had the highest number of cases attributable to evaluated 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 most cases (32,000), while in women, breast (83,840), endometrial (35,790), and colorectal (34,130) cancers were the most common.
“These findings show there is a continued need to increase equitable access to preventive health care and awareness about preventive measures. Effective vaccines are available for hepatitis B virus, that causes liver cancer and HPV, which can cause several cancer types, including cervical, other anogenital, and oropharyngeal cancers,” senior study author Dr Ahmedin Jemal has stated.
“Vaccination at the recommended time can substantially reduce the risk of chronic infection, and consequently, cancers associated with these viruses. HPV vaccination uptake in the United States is suboptimal.”
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