Health
Nearly 40% of cancers can be prevented with 3 lifestyle changes, study finds
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Nearly half of cancers could be avoided by cutting out three major risk factors, a new study has revealed.
Research published this week in Nature Medicine identified that nearly 40% of global cancer cases are linked to tobacco (15% of new cases), infections (10%) and alcohol consumption (3%).
Overall, 7.1 million cancer diagnoses in 2022 were linked to 30 modifiable risk factors, according to the study.
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“The key here is that almost half of all cancers could be prevented by behavioral changes,” Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News Digital senior medical analyst, told Fox News Digital.
Conducted by the World Health Organization and its International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the study analyzed global cancer data across 185 countries, matching it with exposure data for the 30 risk factors.
Nearly half of cancers could be avoided by cutting out three major risk factors, a new study has revealed. (iStock)
Lung, stomach and cervical cancers accounted for nearly half of the cases that were linked to modifiable risks, with many linked to viruses and bacteria like the human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B and C, and Helicobacter pylori (a common bacterium that infects the stomach lining).
“Preventable cancers of the cervix and throat are directly linked to the HPV virus and can be prevented by the HPV vaccine,” added Siegel, who was not involved in the study.
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Lung cancer, throat and GI cancers, and several others were linked to cigarette smoking, and alcohol was associated with breast, liver, colon and throat cancer, the doctor noted.
“Environmental factors are also key, varying by geography — 45% of new cancers could be prevented in men, and 30% in women,” he said.
Lung, stomach and cervical cancers accounted for nearly half of the cases that were linked to modifiable risks. (iStock)
Study author Hanna Fink, from the Cancer Surveillance Branch at IARC/WHO, said the main message is that many cancers can be prevented.
“Almost four in 10 new cancer cases worldwide, which represent 7.1 million lives that don’t need to be changed by a cancer diagnosis, were linked to things we can change or modify through awareness and public-health action,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“These things include tobacco smoking, infections, alcohol consumption, excess body weight, air pollution, ultraviolet radiation and others.”
Looking ahead, the researchers recommend that stronger prevention strategies targeting tobacco use, infections, unhealthy body weight and alcohol use could substantially reduce global cancer cases.
“The key here is that almost half of all cancers could be prevented by behavioral changes.”
“The study reinforces that cancer prevention works, and action is most effective at the population level,” Fink said.
“Governments and communities play a crucial role by making healthy choices easier, for example, through higher tobacco and alcohol taxes, smoke-free policies, clear health warnings, safer workplaces, cleaner air, and affordable access to vaccination and screening. Individuals can support these by advocating for healthier environments and using available preventive services.”
Reducing the risk
The AIRC offers the following recommendations to minimize cancer risk.
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- Do not smoke, and if you do smoke, seek help to quit.
- Keep alcohol intake as low as possible, as “there is no safe level of alcohol for cancer risk.”
- Aim for a healthy body weight over time with a balanced diet and regular physical activity.
- Move more and sit less, as even small amounts of daily movement help.
- Take advantage of vaccines, especially the HPV vaccination for young people and the hepatitis B vaccination.
Tobacco was linked to 15% of new cancer cases, making it the largest modifiable risk factor. (iStock)
“As a family physician, I try to help my patients understand how important their daily habits are in lowering their future cancer risk,” said Dr. Chris Scuderi, a cancer survivor and Florida-based family physician.
The doctor’s key prevention targets include daily exercise, consistent and restorative sleep, a Mediterranean-style diet, regular doctor’s visits and sufficient rest.
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“Small daily wins add up to make a powerful difference over time,” added Scuderi, who also was not involved in the research. “It’s also essential to stay on top of your routine screenings, which your family physician can help you with.”
Potential limitations
The study did have some limitations. The researchers often used data from around 2012 due to the long delay between exposure and cancer, which means the data may not reflect the most recent behaviors or environments.
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“This is a necessary simplification, because in reality, latency can be longer or shorter depending on the cancer and the exposure,” Fink noted.
A doctor recommended daily exercise, consistent and restorative sleep, a Mediterranean-style diet, regular doctor’s visits and sufficient rest to help reduce risk. (iStock)
Siegel pointed out that cancer types vary by geographic region — for example, stomach cancer is more prominent in Asia — and the relationships between risk factors and cancer prevalence can differ between countries, populations and time periods.
“We rely on the best available data on how common each risk factor is in different countries and how strongly it is linked to cancer, but these data are not perfect and are weaker in some low- and middle-income countries,” Fink said.
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Finally, the study only looked at 30 risk factors with the strongest evidence and global data.
“Our estimate of ‘almost 40% of cancers are preventable’ is very likely conservative,” the researcher added. “Some other suspected causes, such as certain aspects of diet, could not be included because the science or the data are not yet robust enough at a global level.”
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A new report by the American Heart Association (AHA) included some troubling predictions for the future of women’s health.
The forecast, published in the journal Circulation on Wednesday, projected increases in various comorbidities in American females by 2050.
More than 59% of women were predicted to have high blood pressure, up from less than 49% currently.
The review also projected that more than 25% of women will have diabetes, compared to about 15% today, and more than 61% will have obesity, compared to 44% currently.
As a result of these risk factors, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7%.
The prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke in women is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7% by 2050. (iStock)
Not all trends were negative, as unhealthy cholesterol prevalence is expected to drop to about 22% from more than 42% today, the report stated.
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Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a cardiologist and founder of Step One Foods in Minnesota, commented on these “jarring findings.”
“The fact that on our current trajectory, cardiometabolic disease is projected to explode in women within one generation should be a huge wake-up call,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“Hypertension, diabetes, obesity — these are all major risk factors for heart disease, and we are already seeing what those risks are driving. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, eclipsing all other causes of death, including breast cancer.”
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. and around the world. (iStock)
Klodas warned that heart disease starts early, progresses “stealthily,” and can present “out of the blue in devastating ways.”
The AHA published another study on Thursday revealing one million hospitalizations, showing that heart attack deaths are climbing among adults below the age of 55.
The more alarming finding, according to Klodas, is that young women were found more likely to die after their first heart attack than men of the same age.
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“This is all especially tragic since heart disease is almost entirely preventable,” she said. “The earlier you start, the better.”
Children can show early evidence of plaque deposition in their arteries, which can be reversed through lifestyle changes if “undertaken early enough and aggressively enough,” according to the expert.
Moving more is one part of protecting a healthy heart, according to experts. (iStock)
Klodas suggested that rising heart conditions are associated with traditional risk factors, like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
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Doctors are also seeing higher rates of preeclampsia, or high blood pressure during pregnancy, as well as gestational diabetes. Klodas noted that these are sex-specific risk factors that don’t typically contribute to complications until after menopause.
The best way to protect a healthy heart is to “do the basics,” Klodas recommended, including the following lifestyle habits.
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Klodas especially emphasized making improvements to diet, as the food people eat affects “every single risk factor that the AHA’s report highlights.”
“High blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, excess weight – these are all conditions that are driven in part or in whole by food,” she said. “We eat multiple times every single day, which means what we eat has profound cumulative effects over time.”
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health,” a doctor said. (iStock)
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health.”
The doctor also recommends changing out a few snacks per day for healthier choices, which has been proven to “yield medication-level cholesterol reductions” in a month.
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“Keep up that small change and, over the course of a year, you could also lose 20 pounds and reduce your sodium intake enough to avoid blood pressure-lowering medications,” Klodas added.
“Women should not view the AHA report as inevitable. We have power over our health destinies. We just need to use it.”
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Nearsightedness (myopia) is skyrocketing globally, with nearly half of the world’s population expected to be myopic by 2050, according to the World Health Organization.
Heavy use of smartphones and other devices is associated with an 80% higher risk of myopia when combined with excessive computer use, but a new study suggests that dim indoor lighting could also be a factor.
For years, scientists have been puzzled by the different ways myopia is triggered. In lab settings, it can be induced by blurring vision or using different lenses. Conversely, it can be slowed by something as simple as spending time outdoors, research suggests.
Nearsightedness occurs when the eyeball grows too long from front to back, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). This physical elongation causes light to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it, making distant objects appear blurry.
The study suggests that myopia isn’t caused by the digital devices themselves, but by the low-light environments where they are typically used. (iStock)
Researchers at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry identified a potential specific trigger for this growth. When someone looks at a phone or a book up close, the pupil naturally constricts.
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“In bright outdoor light, the pupil constricts to protect the eye while still allowing ample light to reach the retina,” Urusha Maharjan, a SUNY Optometry doctoral student who conducted the study, said in a press release.
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“When people focus on close objects indoors, such as phones, tablets or books, the pupil can also constrict — not because of brightness, but to sharpen the image,” she went on. “In dim lighting, this combination may significantly reduce retinal illumination.”
High-intensity natural light prevents myopia because it provides enough retinal stimulation to override the “stop growing” signal, even when pupils are constricted. (iStock)
The hypothesis suggests that when the retina is deprived of light during extended close-up work, it sends a signal for the eye to grow.
In a dim environment, the narrowed pupil allows so little light through that the retinal activity isn’t strong enough to signal the eye to stop growing, the researchers found.
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In contrast, being outdoors provides light levels much brighter than indoors. This ensures that even when the pupil narrows to focus on a nearby object, the retina still receives a strong signal, maintaining healthy eye development.
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The team noted some limitations of the study, including the small subject group and the inability to directly measure internal lens changes, as the bright backgrounds used to mimic the outdoors made pupils too small for standard equipment.
Researchers believe that increasing indoor brightness during close-up work could be a simple, testable way to slow the global nearsightedness epidemic. (iStock)
“This is not a final answer,” Jose-Manuel Alonso, MD, PhD, SUNY distinguished professor and senior author of the study, said in the release.
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“But the study offers a testable hypothesis that reframes how visual habits, lighting and eye focusing interact.”
The study was published in the journal Cell Reports.
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