How Much Cancer Is Preventable, and What Are the Preventable Causes?
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New research found that 40% of cancer diagnoses and 44% of cancer deaths are attributable to preventable risk factors.
On July 11, 2024, CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians published an article estimating cancer cases (excluding nonmelanoma skin cancers) and deaths attributable to potentially preventable risk factors among United States adults aged 30 and older in 2019, both overall and for 30 cancer types.
The Global Cancer Burden
Approximately 20 million new cancers are diagnosed worldwide each year, and around 9.7 million people die from cancer. Over a lifetime, one in 5 men and one in 5 women will develop cancer; one in 9 men and one in 12 women will die from it. These figures highlight cancer's substantial global impact. However, new research finding that 40% of cases and 44% of deaths are attributable to preventable risk factors demonstrates considerable potential for cancer control.
The Most Common Causes of Cancer
Researchers estimated that 40% of cancers and 44% of cancer deaths in 2019 were attributable to the risk factors assessed. The population-attributable fraction (PAF) for each factor is listed below.
Population-attributable fraction (PAF) expresses the percentage of cases or deaths in a population that could be prevented if a particular risk factor were eliminated. It indicates how much of a disease or cause of death in that population is attributable to the factor and is used to assess the potential effects of public health interventions.
| Risk Factor | Share of Cancer Cases | Share of Cancer Deaths |
| Smoking | 19.3% | 28.5% |
| Overweight and Obesity | 7.6% | 7.3% |
| Alcohol Consumption | 5.4% | 4.1% |
| Ultraviolet Radiation | 4.6% | 1.3% |
| Physical Inactivity | 3.1% | 2.5% |
| Low Fruit/Vegetable Intake | 1.4% | 1.5% |
| Processed Meat | 1.0% | 1.0% |
| Low Dietary Fiber | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| H Pylori Infection | 0.7% | 0.9% |
| Red Meat Consumption | 0.6% | 0.6% |
| HCV Infection | 0.5% | 1.0% |
| HIV Infection | 0.5% | 0.4% |
| Low Dietary Calcium | 0.3% | 0.4% |
| Secondhand Smoke | 0.3% | 0.7% |
| EBV Infection | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| HBV Infection | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| HHV8 Infection | <0.1% | <0.1% |
The researchers stated, "In 19 of the 30 cancer types assessed, more than half of cases and deaths were attributable to potentially preventable risk factors."
The greatest numbers of cancer cases attributable to risk factors were:
- Lung cancer
- Breast cancer
- Melanoma
- Colorectal cancer
- Bladder cancer
The greatest numbers of cancer deaths attributable to risk factors were:
- Lung cancer
- Colorectal cancer
- Liver cancer
- Esophageal cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
Commentary
These findings suggest that the burden of cancer and premature deaths could be substantially reduced through widespread, equitable implementation of preventive measures. Established interventions, such as increasing cigarette excise taxes to reduce smoking, expanding HCV screening and treatment, and vaccinating against HPV, may effectively reduce cancer rates.
More implementation research is needed, however, to put these established interventions into practice widely. This is particularly relevant to lifestyle factors such as excess body weight, unhealthy diet, alcohol use and physical inactivity.
Tailored, complementary interventions may be more effective for people disproportionately affected by these risk factors in historically socially and economically disadvantaged communities. Targeted strategies meeting their needs should be developed to reduce health inequalities and cancer risk. They should be designed and implemented with the communities' specific circumstances in mind.
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