A new study by the American Cancer Society reveals that four in 10 cancer cases and about one-half of all cancer deaths in adults age 30 and older in the United States are attributed to lifestyle choices, or modifiable risk factors. “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,“ Dr. Farhad Islami, lead author of the report, said in a news release.
”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.” In the study, Dr. Islami and his team used data on cancer incidence, mortality, and risk factors to estimate the number of cancer cases and deaths that could be attributed to each potentially modifiable risk factor.
They went through this process for 30 cancer types and delved into the specifics of the modifiable risk factors. For example, while investigating how a person’s diet could contribute to cancer risk, researchers looked at the amount of red meat and processed meat, the number of fruits and vegetables, and the amount of dietary fiber and calcium they consumed. They found that next to cigarette smoke, excess body weight was the second main modifiable risk factor, contributing to 7.
6 percent of potentially preventable cancers, followed by alcohol consumption at 5.4 percent, UV radiation exposure at 4.6 percent, and physical inactivity at 3.
1 percent. Modifiable risk factors accounted for 100 percent of cases of cervical cancer and Kaposi sarcoma, a type of cancer associated with HIV. Additionally, modifiable risk factors contributed to 4.
9 percent of ovarian cancer cases. 92.2 percent of melanomas 94.
2 percent of anal cancers 89.9 percent of larynx cancers 88.2 percent of lung and bronchus cancers 87.
4 percent of pharynx cancers 85.6 percent of tracheal cancers 85.4 percent of esophagus cancers 83.
7 percent of oral cancers “Effective vaccines are available for hepatitis B virus, that causes liver cancer and HPV, which can cause several cancer types, including cervical, other anogenital, and oropharyngeal cancers. Vaccination at the recommended time can substantially reduce the risk of chronic infection, and consequently, cancers associated with these viruses. HPV vaccination uptake in the United State [sic] is suboptimal.
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