40% Of Cancers Attributed To Preventable Factors

More than 100,000 cancers - nearly 4 in 10 of all those diagnosed in Britain each year - could be prevented if people made different choices, according to a new study by Cancer Research UK.

"Looking at all the evidence, it's clear that around 40 percent of all cancers are caused by things we mostly have the power to change," reads a statement from study author Max Parkin, a cancer epidemiologist based at Queen Mary, University of London. Those behaviors include: smoking, unhealthy eating, alcohol consumption and being overweight.

Researchers analyzed data on cancer cases that occurred in the U.K between 1993 and 2007. Cancers were then assessed to determine the proportion that could be attributed to the following 14 risk factors: drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, not eating enough fruits and vegetables, not eating enough fiber, consuming red and processed meat, consuming lots of salt, being overweight or obese, not exercising, infections (such as HPV), sunlight exposure, radiation exposure, occupational exposure to chemicals and for women: not breastfeeding, and undergoing hormone replacement therapy.

Predictably, smoking tobacco was found to be the greatest lifestyle factor most related to cancer with nearly 23% of cancer cases in men attributed in some way to smoking, along with nearly 16% in women.

Not eating enough fruits and vegetables was found to have contributed to nearly 6 percent of cancers in men versus 3.4 percent in women. Surprisingly, obesity was found to be a major factor in nearly 7 percent of cancers in women, versus 4.1 percent in men. When taking into account all 14 lifestyle and environmental risk factors analyzed in the study, the number of cancer cases attributed to preventable circumstances increased to an amount closer to 135,000.

"We didn't expect to find that eating fruit and vegetables would prove to be so important in protecting men against cancer," Parkin said in a statement. "And among women we didn't expect being overweight to have a greater effect that alcohol."

Overall, the researchers found 45 percent of all cancers in men could be prevented, along with 40 percent of all cancers in women.

In assessing the group's findings, Dr. Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK's chief executive, noted: "Leading a healthy life doesn't guarantee that a person won't get cancer but this study shows that healthy habits can significantly stack the odds in our favor. Stopping smoking, eating a balanced diet, cutting down on alcohol and maintaining a healthy weight could be New Year's resolutions that help save more lives in the future."

SLIDESHOW: 7 Key Cancer Risk Factors To Avoid

Comments

[Anti-Panoptic]

11:43 AM on 01/02/2012

No surprise here.

[liquidify]

07:09 PM on 12/08/2011

Why was my post deleted? Is it the fact that I said these studies are unscientific at best? Or is it the fact that I said greater than 90% percent of cancers are caused by behavior?

Consider this; Exposure to toxins is a BEHAVIORAL issue. Your bodies ability to remove toxins is BEHAVIORAL. On a cellular level, your exposure to free radicals is due to the choices you make, and thus is BEHAVIORAL issue. Your exposure to sugars, and your lack of healthy omega-3 fats are BEHAVIORAL choices.

These are the things that cause cancer. Toxins, or viruses, or genetics, radiation, or other harmful things by themselves don't cause cancer. Cancer comes from a systemic breakdown and can only occur is their are serious deviations from the way the body is supposed to work. In nearly all cases, BEHAVIOR is the root issue that causes the weakened immune system, limits the body's ability to remove toxins, and sets the stage for cancer.

Perhaps you removed my post because you didn't want people to conclude where this is going...

Eat REAL food with good healthy fats, exercise a lot, limit sugar intake, avoid chemical body and beauty products or toxic intake from work environments and you will never get cancer.

[DoberDaneGirl]

01:44 AM on 01/01/2012

Just to add to that, the chosen foods should be organic (as much as possible). Our food supply has certainly been tampered with. Genetically altered, modified, and essentially unrecognizable.

Also, to add to your comment about toxins, the use of medication should be limited, if not done away with altogether. Vaccines are another health hazard (yes, I am anti-vaccine....but this is also with YEARS of reading, researching, and making my own conclusions with the help of information provided by doctors in their books).

We dump large amounts of toxins in our bodies on a daily basis. We're drinking tap water that is poisoned with chemicals (and yes, fluoride is a poison as well, and yet, it is added to "Nursery water", put in our toothpastes, etc.) We're eating vegetables and fruits that have chemicals and pesticides on them, foods that have been grossly modified to simplify and cut costs for the farmer. "They" prefer us to be sick. That is where the money is at. So many medical alternatives, but it is just simpler for a doctor to prescribe a drug to mask the symptoms, than to get to the heart of the matter. Which is usually just something so simple as diet.

[anitaroosevelt]

11:36 AM on 01/02/2012

How do you avoid toxic work environments when companies get away with dumping carcinogenic chemicals into the air and water?

What? Pass restrictions on this? But that would be (gasp) socialism !

Saving American lives is secondary to increasing profits for "job creators"....I guess.

[liquidify]

08:10 PM on 01/02/2012

EPA mandates have nothing to do with "socialism." Socialism is a system that deals with distribution of wealth and federalization of social services. Some EPA mandates could be considered constitutional because they serve to protect the population.

The problem most people have with organizations like the EPA is that they overstep their mandates and in some cases force companies to buy into a methodology which is unproven or not cost effective.

Regarding reducing toxins in workplace, I certainly think there should be a government role, but you must be careful when doing this because governments inevitably will be influenced by lobbies. A better way to accomplish workplace safety may be to remove some of the laws relating to corporate shields on personal liability. I am not sure what laws and regulatory mechanisms would need to be addressed to make something like this happen, but I am quite certain that there would be a way to accomplish what we are talking about while at the same time empowering individuals rather than governmental agencies.

[liquidify]

05:07 PM on 12/08/2011

This article is very unscientific, and the "data" backing their 40% number is poor at best.

Reality is that probably more than 90% percent of cancer is attributable to behavior.