Recent research indicates that over 30 types of cancer could potentially be dodged by making specific lifestyle tweaks. With cancer remaining a significant health issue and the number of cases on the rise, this insight is particularly timely.
Key lifestyle factors pinpointed include smoking, carrying excess weight, boozing, not enough exercise, a poor diet, and infections. These findings were drawn from an analysis of American health data, which delved into hundreds of thousands of cancer cases and deaths in the US for individuals aged 30 and above in 2019.
Smoking was identified as the top risk factor, responsible for nearly one-fifth of all cancer cases and almost a third of all cancer-related deaths in the States. Although the link between smoking and lung cancer is well-established, the extent of its impact revealed in the study still managed to raise eyebrows, as reported by the Daily Record.
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“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,” explained Dr Farhad Islami of the American Cancer Society, who spearheaded the study.
The research team analysed data representative of the American population regarding cancer incidence, mortality, and the prevalence of risk factors to estimate the proportion and number of cases and deaths due to potentially modifiable risk factors. The study investigated 30 cancer types, excluding non-melanoma skin cancers, reports the Express.
Risk factors included current and past cigarette smoking, secondhand smoke exposure, excessive body weight, alcohol consumption, intake of red and processed meats, and low consumption of fruits, vegetables, dietary fibre and calcium.
The study also emphasised physical inactivity, ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure, and infections with various viruses, such as hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV), herpes, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and human papillomavirus (HPV).
Findings indicated that cigarette smoking was the leading cause of cancer cases linked to risk factors, with 344,070 cases or 19.3 percent of all cases. It accounted for 56 percent of all preventable cancers in men (206,550 out of 368,600) and 39.9 percent in women (137,520 out of 344,740).
Excessive body weight was the second-highest contributor at 7.6 percent, followed by alcohol intake at 5.4 percent. UV radiation exposure was responsible for 4.6 percent, and physical inactivity for 3.1 percent of the cases.
The proportion of cancer cases caused by potentially modifiable risk factors varied greatly depending on the type of cancer, according to a recent study. It was found that 100 per cent of cervical cancer and Kaposi sarcoma cases could be attributed to these factors, while only 4.9 per cent of ovarian cancer cases could be.
Over half of the cases for 19 out of the 30 evaluated cancer types were attributable to these factors.
Moreover, over 80 per cent of all skin melanomas and cancers of the anus, throat, lungs, and mouth were linked 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.
Senior study author Dr Ahmedin Jemal emphasised the importance of preventive health care and awareness about preventive measures. He stated: “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,”.
He added: “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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