In a joint news release issued from Geneva and Lyon ahead of World Cancer Day, the WHO said the conclusion is based on a new global analysis conducted by the WHO and its International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The study examined 30 preventable risk factors, including tobacco and alcohol use, high body mass index, physical inactivity, air pollution, ultraviolet radiation, and, for the first time, nine cancer-causing infections.
Published the same day in Nature Medicine, “the analysis estimates that 37 percent of all new cancer cases in 2022, around 7.1 million cases, were linked to preventable causes,” said the release, noting that “the findings highlight the enormous potential of prevention in reducing the global cancer burden.”
Drawing on data from 185 countries and 36 cancer types, the study identifies tobacco as the leading preventable cause of cancer worldwide, accounting for 15 percent of all new cases. It is followed by infections and alcohol consumption.
Globally, three cancer types, lung, stomach, and cervical cancer, accounted for nearly half of all preventable cases in both men and women. Lung cancer was primarily associated with smoking and air pollution, stomach cancer was largely attributable to Helicobacter pylori infection, and cervical cancer was overwhelmingly caused by human papillomavirus (HPV).
“This is the first global analysis to show how much cancer risk comes from causes we can prevent,” said Andre Ilbawi, WHO Team Lead for Cancer Control, and author of the study. “By examining patterns across countries and population groups, we can provide governments and individuals with more specific information to help prevent many cancer cases before they start.”
According to the report, the burden of preventable cancer was substantially higher in men than in women, with 45 percent of new cancer cases in men compared with 30 percent in women. Among men, smoking accounted for an estimated 23 percent of all new cancer cases, followed by infections at 9 percent and alcohol at 4 percent. Among women globally, infections accounted for 11 percent of all new cancer cases, followed by smoking at 6 percent and high body mass index at 3 percent.
The findings underscore the need for context-specific prevention strategies that include strong tobacco control measures, alcohol regulation, vaccination against cancer-causing infections such as HPV and hepatitis B, improved air quality, safer workplaces, and healthier food and physical activity environments, says the WHO.
