By Joke Kujenya
MORE THAN a third of all cancer cases globally are preventable, according to a recent analysis from the World Health Organization (WHO).
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the analysis found that in 2022 there were nearly 19 million new cases of cancer, with roughly 38 percent of diagnoses linked to 30 changeable risk factors.
The report reflects that lung, stomach and cervical cancers account for nearly half of those cases, while millions of cancer cases each year could be prevented through medical intervention, behaviour changes, reduced occupational risks and action on environmental pollutants.
“This landmark study is a comprehensive assessment of preventable cancer worldwide, incorporating for the first time infectious causes of cancer alongside behavioural, environmental, and occupational risks,” says Isabelle Soerjomataram, medical epidemiologist at WHO and senior author of the analysis.
“Addressing these preventable causes represents one of the most powerful opportunities to reduce the global cancer burden.”
WHO says the risk factors identified include tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, high body mass index, insufficient physical activity, smokeless tobacco such as chewing tobacco, areca nut, suboptimal breastfeeding, air pollution, ultraviolet radiation, infectious agents and more than a dozen occupational exposures.
The organ also notes that tobacco smoking was identified as the leading preventable factor associated with cancer, linked to 15 percent of all cancer cases in 2022.
Among men, smoking contributed to 23 percent of all new cancer cases globally.
Air pollution also contributed, with regional variation. In East Asia, about 15 percent of lung cancer cases in women were linked to air pollution.
In Northern Africa and Western Asia, approximately 20 percent of lung cancer cases in men were linked to air pollution.
Alcohol consumption ranked second among lifestyle related factors, accounting for 3.2 percent of all new cancer cases, around 700,000 cases.
WHO researchers estimate that smoking and alcohol together account for almost half, around 48 percent, of all preventable cancer cases.
They also note that infections were linked to roughly 10 percent of new cancer cases, with high-risk human papillomavirus identified as the largest contributor among women and a key driver of cervical cancer.
Stomach cancer cases were reported as higher among men and associated with smoking and infections linked to overcrowding, inadequate sanitation and poor access to clean water.
“This is the first global analysis to show how much cancer risk comes from causes we can prevent,” says André Ilbawi, WHO Team Lead for Cancer Control (LCC) and co-author of the analysis.
“By examining patterns across countries and population groups, we can provide governments and individuals with more specific information to help prevent many cancer cases before they start.”
“In summary, nearly 4 in 10 cancer cases worldwide in 2022 could have been prevented by eliminating exposure to the risk factors considered in this study,” the WHO researchers explain.
They add that the results reinforce the call for effective cancer prevention requiring sustained political commitment and investment tailored to population risk profiles worldwide.
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