Nearly four in ten cancer cases worldwide could be prevented, according to a global analysis by the World Health Organization published in Nature Medicine. The study found that 37 per cent of all new cancer cases in 2022—approximately 7.1 million of the 18.7 million cases diagnosed globally—were linked to preventable causes.
Researchers analysed data from 185 countries, examining 36 types of cancer and their association with 30 preventable risk factors. These included tobacco use, alcohol consumption, high body mass index, physical inactivity, air pollution, ultraviolet radiation, suboptimal breastfeeding, smokeless tobacco and areca nut use, nine cancer-causing infections, and 13 occupational exposures.
Tobacco use was the leading preventable cause of cancer, accounting for 15.1 per cent of all new cases, followed by infections (10.2 per cent) and alcohol consumption (3.2 per cent). Lung, stomach and cervical cancers together represented nearly half of all preventable cancer cases worldwide in both men and women.
Preventable cancer cases were more common among men (45 per cent) than women (30 per cent). Among men, smoking accounted for 23 per cent of new cancer cases, followed by infections (9 per cent) and alcohol use (4 per cent). Among women, infections were responsible for 11 per cent of new cases, followed by smoking (6 per cent) and high body mass index (3 per cent).
“Addressing these preventable causes represents one of the most powerful opportunities to reduce the global cancer burden,” the study’s senior author noted.