In 2022, an estimated 37.8% of new cancer cases globally were linked to 30 modifiable risk factors, according to a study published Feb. 3 in Nature Medicine.
For the study, researchers used Global Cancer Observatory data for 36 cancer sites across 185 countries.
Here are three notes on the study:
- The 30 modifiable risk factors analyzed in the study were tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, high body mass index, insufficient physical activity, smokeless tobacco and areca nut, suboptimal breastfeeding, air pollution, ultraviolet radiation, nine infectious agents and 13 occupational exposures.
- There were an estimated 18.7 million new cancer cases globally, with 7.1 million — or 37.8% — attributable to the 30 modifiable risk factors.
Modifiable risk factors were associated with 29.7% of cancer cases among women and 45.4% of cases among men. - Smoking, infections and alcohol consumption were the leading attributable risk factors, with lung, stomach and cervical cancers representing almost half of all preventable cancer cases.
Read the full study here.
