Named the main risk factors for death from cancer

Smoking and other risk factors are responsible for nearly half of cancer deaths, a new study has found. The largest research project of its kind also points to alcohol and being overweight as major causes of cancer deaths.

According to the largest study of its kind, smoking, alcohol consumption, being overweight and other risk factors account for almost half of all cancer deaths worldwide.

As noted The Guardian, cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide, and exposure to risk factors plays a key role in the course of many cancers. Doctors don’t know the exact causes of cancer, and not every case or death is preventable, but there are risk factors that can increase a person’s chance of developing a dangerous disease.

Now, researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine have become the first to figure out how risk factors affect cancer deaths worldwide.

Smoking, alcohol consumption and a high body mass index (BMI) are the main causes. Together, these risk factors are responsible for almost 4.45 million cancer deaths per year, according to findings published in the Lancet, which used the 2019 Global Burden of Disease, Injury and Risk Factors (GBD) study. This accounts for 44.4% of all cancer deaths worldwide. Half of all cancer deaths among men in 2019 (50.6%, or 2.88 million) were attributable to suspected risk factors, compared with more than a third of all cancer deaths among women (36.3%, or 1. 58 million).

“This study shows that the burden of cancer remains an important and growing public health problem worldwide,” said Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

“Smoking continues to be the leading risk factor for cancer worldwide, with other significant factors influencing the burden of cancer varying,” says Dr. Murray. “Our findings can help policymakers and researchers identify key risk factors that could be addressed in efforts to reduce cancer deaths and health ills at the regional, national and global levels.”

Smoking was named as the leading global risk factor for cancer mortality for both sexes, followed by alcohol consumption and high BMI.

The most common cause of cancer-related death for both women and men worldwide is trachea, bronchus and lung cancer. They account for 36.9% of all cancer deaths associated with risk factors.

This is followed by cervical cancer (17.9%), colon and rectal cancer (15.8%) and breast cancer (11%) in women. In men, colon and rectal cancer (13.3%), esophageal cancer (9.7%) and stomach cancer (6.6%).

The five regions with the highest rates of cancer deaths due to risk factors were Central Europe (82 deaths per 100,000 population), East Asia (69.8 deaths per 100,000 population), High-income North America (66 deaths per 100,000 population), 100,000 people), southern Latin America (64.2 cases per 100,000 people). ) and Western Europe (63.8 per 100 thousand population).

While not all cases or deaths are preventable, Cancer Research UK, the world’s largest independent cancer research organization, says that quitting smoking, cutting back on alcohol, maintaining a healthy weight, safe sun exposure and a balanced diet can improve chances of recovery.

In their commentary, Professor Diana Sarfati and Dr Jason Gurney of the University of Otago, New Zealand, who were not involved in the study, said that preventing cancer by eliminating or reducing exposure to risk factors is “our best hope for reducing risk in the future burden of cancer.”

“Reducing this burden will improve health and well-being, as well as reduce the cumulative impact on people and the pressure on financial resources in cancer services and the broader health sector,” the scientists said.