• Up to four in ten cancer cases worldwide could be prevented, according to a new global analysis from the World Health Organization (WHO) and its International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). • The study examines 30 preventable causes, including tobacco, alcohol, high body mass index, physical inactivity, air pollution, ultraviolet radiation - and for the first time - nine cancer-causing infections. • Released ahead of World Cancer Day, 4 February, the analysis estimates that 37% of all new cancer cases in 2022, around 7.1 million cases, were linked to preventable causes. • The findings highlight the enormous potential of prevention in reducing the global cancer burden. • Drawing on data from 185 countries and 36 cancer types, the study identifies tobacco as the leading preventable cause of cancer, globally responsible for 15% of all new cancer cases, followed by infections (10%) and alcohol consumption (3%). • Three cancer types - lung, stomach and cervical cancer - accounted for nearly half of all preventable cancer cases in both men and women, globally.
Article Summaries:
- A new WHO‑IARC study estimates that 37 % of the 7.1 million cancer cases diagnosed worldwide in 2022 could have been avoided through prevention. Tobacco is the leading preventable cause, responsible for 15 % of all new cancers, followed by infections (10 %) and alcohol (3 %). Lung, stomach and cervical cancers together account for nearly half of preventable cases, driven mainly by smoking, air pollution, Helicobacter pylori and HPV. The burden is higher in men (45 %) than women (30 %), with regional variations from 28 % in Latin America to 57 % in East Asia. The findings highlight the potential of targeted tobacco control, vaccination, and environmental measures to reduce global cancer incidence.
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