Almost half of adult cancers are preventable through lifestyle changes

More evidence has been found to back up long-held beliefs that lifestyle can greatly impact a person’s risk of certain cancers.

A new American Cancer Society study published last week estimates that 40% of new cancer cases and 44% of cancer deaths in people 30 and over could be prevented if people avoid certain high-risk lifestyles, including smoking and drinking alcohol.

The study found that in 2019, 40% of the nearly 1.8 million cancers in adults 30 and older were caused by “potentially modifiable risk factors.” Researchers examined 30 types of cancer and excluded non-melanoma skin cancers. Among the key risk factors, smoking had the biggest impact, and lung cancer was among the most avoided through lifestyle changes.

“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,” Farhad Islami, the American Cancer Society’s senior scientific director of cancer disparity research and the study’s lead author, told USA Today.

Other risk factors examined by researchers were excess body weight, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, diet, and infections such as HPV. Researchers analyzed 18 risk factors that can reasonably be controlled across 30 types of cancer. According to the study, in 2019, these risk factors were linked to more than 700,000 new cancer cases and more than 262,000 deaths.

“These are things that people can practically change how they live every single day to reduce their risk of cancer,” Dr. Arif Kamal, chief patient officer with the American Cancer Society, told CNN.

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For instance, the study found 10 types of cancer where avoidable risk factors led to over 80% of new cases, including more than 90% of melanoma cases linked to ultraviolet radiation and almost all cases of cervical cancer linked to HPV infection. The former could be prevented by better sun health practices, including regular use of sunscreen, and a vaccine can prevent the latter.

Meanwhile, after smoking, excess body weight was the second largest avoidable risk factor associated with cancer cases, linked to roughly 5% of new cases in men and nearly 11% of cases in women. The study further found that excess body weight was linked to over a third of deaths from cancer of the endometrium, gallbladder, esophagus, liver, and kidney.

While Black Americans may not develop certain cancers at the same rate as their white counterparts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black people remain the most likely to be diagnosed at a later stage and have the highest death rate of all time. 

With more evidence to suggest avoiding habits like smoking cigarettes, excessive drinking, and a sedentary lifestyle could greatly improve health outcomes, these stats don’t have to stay this way.