Geneva, Feb. 4 — Up to four out of ten cancer cases could be prevented worldwide, according to a study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and its International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
The research examined 30 preventable causes, including tobacco and alcohol consumption, a high body mass index, physical inactivity, air pollution, ultraviolet radiation, and, for the first time, nine cancer-causing infections.
It was estimated that in 2022, 37 percent of all new cancer cases (around 7.1 million) were linked to preventable causes.
Using data from 185 countries and 36 types of cancer, the study concluded that tobacco is the leading preventable cause of cancer worldwide, accounting for 15 percent of all new cases, followed by infections (10 percent) and alcohol consumption (3 percent).
Three types of cancer — lung, stomach, and cervical — account for nearly half of all preventable cancer cases in both men and women, the report noted.
Lung cancer is primarily linked to smoking and air pollution, stomach cancer is mostly attributable to Helicobacter pylori infection, and cervical cancer is overwhelmingly caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV).
According to experts, the burden of preventable cancer is significantly higher in men than in women (45 percent versus 30 percent).
Among men, smoking is estimated to cause 23 percent of all new cases, followed by infections (9 percent) and alcohol (4 percent).
Among women, infections caused 11 percent of all new cases, followed by smoking (6 percent) and a high body mass index (3 percent).
Preventable cancer varies greatly between regions: among women, preventable cancers range from 24 percent in North Africa and Western Asia to 38 percent in sub-Saharan Africa.
Meanwhile, among men, the highest burden is observed in East Asia at 57 percent and the lowest in Latin America and the Caribbean at 28 percent.
Such differences reflect variable exposure to behavioral, environmental, occupational, and infectious risk factors, as well as differences in socioeconomic development, national prevention policies, and health system capacity.
The WHO and IARC emphasized the need to establish prevention strategies tailored to each context, including strict tobacco control measures, alcohol regulation, vaccination against cancer-causing infections such as HPV and hepatitis B, improvement of air quality, safer workplaces, and healthier environments for diet and physical activity.
The publication was released ahead of World Cancer Day, celebrated on February 4.
