United States: The research by the American Cancer Society established that in American adults 30 years and older, 40 percent of the new cases of adult cancer are a result of preventable risk factors, while the mortality rate from preventable risks is almost half of the total deaths.
More about the finding
According to Dr. Arif Kamal, chief patient officer with the American Cancer Society, “These are things that people can practically change how they live every single day to reduce their risk of cancer,” as CNN Health reported.
Smoking was the largest preventable cause of cancer; the study also showed that it is the cause of nearly 20 percent of all cancers and nearly a third of all deaths from cancer.
The other specific turning points were obesity, alcohol consumption, lack of exercise, diet, and infections, including HPV.
What are the various study findings?
In total, there were 30 cancer types for which researchers studied 18 modifiable aspects. The study also revealed that in 2019, these lifestyle factors ramped up over 700K brand-new cancer instances and over 262,000 fatalities.
Cancer progresses because either there is DNA damage or it feeds off something, according to Kamal, as CNN Health reported.
These biological conditions can also be produced by other things, like genetics or environmental risks, but adjustable risks account for a much larger portion of cancer incidences and mortality than any other risk.
Sunburn on the skin may cause cancer, so controlling sunlight exposure is important, and fat cells give hormones that may fuel cancer.
Moreover, as Kamal said, “With cancer, it oftentimes feels like you have no control,” and “People think about bad luck or bad genetics, but people need to feel a sense of control and agency.”
Some cancers are easily preventable
Some types of cancer are more easily prevented than others, according to the new research. Still, certain modifiable factors were linked to more than half of new instances of 19 from the 30 types of cancer assessed.
Ten kinds of cancer can be artificially attributed to at least 80 percent of new cases of diseases: more than 90 percent of melanomas are due to ultraviolet radiation, and nearly all new cases of cervical cancer are due to HPV infection, preventing which is possible through the use of vaccines.
Additionally, according to Dr. Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, “Obesity is emerging, in some ways, as just as potent of a risk for people as smoking is.”