4 in 10 Cancer Cases Are Preventable: WHO

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World Cancer Day Today


Geneva: A major global analysis by the World Health Organization (WHO) and its International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has found that up to four in ten cancer cases worldwide could be prevented.

Released ahead of World Cancer Day on February 4, the study estimates that 37% of new cancer cases in 2022 (around 7.1 million cases) were linked to preventable causes, underscoring the vast potential of prevention to reduce the global cancer burden.

The analysis examined 30 preventable risk factors, including tobacco use, alcohol consumption, high body mass index, physical inactivity, air pollution, ultraviolet radiation, and for the first time, nine cancer-causing infections.

Drawing on data from 185 countries and 36 cancer types, tobacco was identified as the leading preventable cause, accounting for 15 per cent of all new cancer cases globally. Infections followed at 10%, while alcohol consumption contributed 3%.

The study found that lung, stomach and cervical cancers together accounted for nearly half of all preventable cancer cases worldwide. Lung cancer was largely linked to smoking and air pollution, stomach cancer to Helicobacter pylori infection, and cervical cancer overwhelmingly to the human papillomavirus (HPV).

Men were found to bear a significantly higher burden of preventable cancer, with 45% of new cases in men linked to preventable causes, compared with 30% in women. Regional disparities were also observed, reflecting differences in exposure to risk factors, socioeconomic conditions and national prevention policies.

WHO officials stressed that targeted prevention strategies, including tobacco control, alcohol regulation, vaccination against HPV and hepatitis B, cleaner air, safer workplaces and healthier lifestyles, could prevent millions of cancer cases worldwide.