Regular mammography allows you to diagnose breast cancer at an early stage. WHO: up to 40 percent of cancer cases can be prevented Healthcare
Four out of ten cases of cancer in the world are preventable. This is according to a new global analysis from the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The study, published ahead of World Cancer Day on February 4, covers data from 185 countries on 36 types of cancer. It assessed the impact of 30 preventable risk factors, including tobacco and alcohol consumption, high body mass index, physical inactivity, air pollution and ultraviolet radiation.
Experts estimate that in 2022, about 7.1 million new cancer cases—37 percent—were due to avoidable factors. The authors emphasize that these data demonstrate the enormous potential of prevention in reducing the global burden of disease.
Main causes
Tobacco smoking remains the leading preventable cause of cancer, accounting for 15 percent of all new cases. Infections are in second place – they cause 10 percent of new diagnoses. In third place is alcohol consumption, responsible for three percent of cases.
Almost half of the world’s preventable cancer cases are due to three types of disease: lung, stomach and cervical cancer. Lung cancer is predominantly caused by smoking and air pollution, stomach cancer by Helicobacter pylori infection, and cervical cancer by human papillomavirus.
According to the head of the WHO Cancer Control Programme, Dr Andre Ilbawy, this is the first global analysis to show the scale of the impact of preventable factors and allow governments and people to take more effective action to reduce risk.
Gender and geographic differences
The study revealed significant differences between men and women. Among men, preventable factors account for 45 percent of new cancer cases, compared with 30 percent among women. The main risk factors for men are smoking, infections and alcohol, while for women they are infections, smoking and a high body mass index.
Regional differences also turned out to be significant. Among women, the proportion of preventable cases ranged from 24 percent in North Africa and Western Asia to 38 percent in sub-Saharan Africa. Among men, rates ranged from 28 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean to 57 percent in East Asia. These differences reflect varying levels of exposure to behavioral, environmental and infectious factors, as well as differences in socioeconomic development, national prevention policies and health system capacity.
The study authors emphasize that effective prevention strategies must take into account the local context and include measures to control the sale of tobacco and alcohol, vaccination against HPV and hepatitis B, improving air quality, making workplaces safer, and creating conditions for healthy eating and physical activity.