The best way to end cancer is to stop it from forming in the first place. However, did you know your life choices may be the biggest reason you’re at risk for cancer? In fact, a new study reveals that four in 10 cancer cases are preventable. Published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, researchers with the American Cancer Society also report that nearly half of all cancer deaths among U.S. adults 30 years and older are the result of controllable risk factors such as cigarette smoking, physical inactivity, obesity, and excessive drinking.
Out of all of the modifiable lifestyle choices, cigarette smoking was the greatest contributor to cancer.
“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,” says Dr. Farhad Islami, the senior scientific director of cancer disparity research at the American Cancer Society, in a media release.
Methodology
Researchers collected data on rates of cancer diagnosis, cancer deaths, and risk factors to estimate the number of cases and deaths caused by modifiable risk factors (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers). The study authors looked at 30 different cancer types.
The risk factors assessed included current or former cigarette smoking, routine exposure to secondhand smoke, excess body weight, heavy alcohol drinking, eating red and processed meat, low consumption of fruits and vegetables, dietary calcium, physical inactivity, ultraviolet radiation, and viral infections.
Key Results
Cigarette smoking caused a disproportionate amount of cancer cases, contributing to 19.3% of new diagnoses. Additionally, cigarette smoking contributed to 56% of all potentially preventable cancers in men and 39.9% of preventable cancers in women.
Obesity was the second most influential modifiable risk factor contributing to the formation of new cancers at 7.6%. This was followed by alcohol consumption, UV radiation exposure, and physical inactivity.
“Interventions to help maintain healthy body weight and diet can also substantially reduce the number of cancer cases and deaths in the country, especially given the increasing incidence of several cancer types associated with excess body weight, particularly in younger individuals,” explains Dr. Islami.
These lifestyle choices significantly increased the risk for certain types of cancers in staggering proportions. Modifiable risk factors contributed to 100% of cervical cancer cases and Kaposi sarcoma. For 19 of the 30 cancers studied, these factors played a part in over 50% of new diagnoses.