Health
To reduce cancer risk, researchers recommend adopting these 4 healthy habits
While some cancers are driven by genetics, studies have shown that up to half of all cases are caused by behavioral risk factors — which means they’re preventable.
Doctors recommend some common lifestyle changes to prevent cancer, such as not smoking, eating nutritious foods, wearing sun protection and limiting exposure to carcinogens — but each person’s means of reducing risk can look different.
Researchers at Mass General Brigham have compiled four specific, research-backed strategies for reducing risk.
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1. Stay on top of preventive screenings
Procrastination is one of the top reasons for missed cancer screenings, research has shown.
Researchers at Mass General Brigham have compiled four specific, research-backed strategies for reducing risk. (iStock)
For example, colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in Black individuals in the U.S., but many do not get the recommended screenings.
A study by Dr. Adjoa Anyane-Yeboa, a gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), found that “self-reported procrastination” was the primary reason for the skipped screenings, fueled by “financial concerns, COVID-19 concerns and fear of both the test and bowel preparation.”
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“The key takeaway from this study is that all providers should discuss colorectal cancer screening at regular intervals with all of their patients, because early detection through screening saves lives,” Anyane-Yeboa told Fox News Digital.
“To reduce their cancer risk, all people should be screened starting at age 45 and talk to their families about their family history to figure out if they need to be screened earlier.”
Screening guidelines for other types of cancers can be found on the American Cancer Society website. (iStock)
“Colorectal cancer is preventable with screening, and screening really does save lives.”
Screening guidelines for other types of cancers can be found on the American Cancer Society website.
2. Improve your sleep health
Insufficient or poor-quality sleep has been linked to a higher risk of developing cancers.
Heming Wang, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), led a research team that examined the impact of insomnia on ovarian cancer risk.
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“Insomnia is a common sleep disorder among ovarian cancer patients,” Wang told Fox News Digital.
“Our research revealed that insomnia increases the risk of a specific subtype of ovarian cancer and is associated with reduced survival in patients,” he went on.
Insufficient or poor-quality sleep has been linked to a higher risk of developing cancers. (iStock)
“These findings highlight the importance of addressing insomnia in the prevention and management of ovarian cancer.”
Based on these findings, seeking treatment for insomnia can help reduce the risk of certain types of ovarian cancer, according to the researchers.
3. Know the risks and benefits of daily aspirin use
Research has shown that regularly taking aspirin or another non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) can reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer — but it can also lead to dangerous side effects, such as bleeding and inflammation.
“It is important to know if you are more likely to benefit from daily aspirin use,” according to MGH.
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Daniel Sikavi, MD, and Andrew Chan, MD, of MGH, led a study that explored the link between aspirin and colon cancer risk.
“Our results suggested that people with a less healthy lifestyle — higher body mass index, more smoking, greater alcohol use, less physical activity and poorer diet quality — had a greater absolute benefit from aspirin use in reducing their risk of colorectal cancer,” Sikavi told Fox News Digital.
Research has shown that regularly taking aspirin can reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer — but it can also lead to dangerous side effects. (iStock)
People with a healthier lifestyle had a lower overall risk of colon cancer, the researchers found, but regular aspirin use didn’t have the same protective effects for that group.
“This work is an important example of a more personalized approach to cancer prevention by targeting effective prevention strategies to populations that are the most likely to benefit,” Sikavi noted.
4. Cut down on sugar-sweetened beverages
More than half of the U.S. population consumes sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) on any given day, studies have shown.
Research by the American Cancer Society (ACS) found that men and women who drank two or more servings of SSBs per day had a 5% higher risk of dying from an obesity-related cancer.
“Despite their sweet taste, sugary drinks pose significant health risks,” Longgang Zhao, PhD, a researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told Fox News Digital.
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“Researchers have already linked the beverages to obesity, diabetes and heart disease.”
Zhao recently led a study that investigated the link between sugar-sweetened beverages and liver cancer risk among postmenopausal women.
Research has found that men and women who drank two or more servings of sugar-sweetened beverages per day had a 5% higher risk of dying from an obesity-related cancer. (iStock)
“In our current study using data from the Women’s Health Initiative prospective cohort, we found that postmenopausal women who drank one or more sugar-sweetened beverages per day had a higher risk of developing liver cancer and dying of chronic liver disease than those who drank less than three or fewer sugar-sweetened beverages per month,” he said.
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“If a causal link is established between sugary drinks and liver disease, the broader implications for global public health initiatives are substantial.”
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A new injectable therapy is showing positive results in reducing melanoma throughout a five-year period.
The personalized mRNA cancer therapy, called intismeran autogene, combined with the cancer immunotherapy drug KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), is a collaboration between Merck and Moderna.
The results from the phase 2b KEYNOTE-942 study were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago on May 27.
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After about a five-year follow-up, the combo drug was found to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to pembrolizumab alone.
The researchers analyzed data from 157 patients with high-risk stage 3 and 4 melanoma whose cancer had been removed via surgery. The participants were split into two groups — one received the combo therapy and the other only received pembrolizumab, according to a press release.
The therapy was found to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to pembrolizumab alone after a five-year follow-up. (iStock)
The findings revealed that the combination group saw benefits that were “sustained and durable over time.”
Intismeran autogene is designed using mutations identified in a patient’s own tumor, with the intention of teaching the immune system what the cancer looks like so that it can recognize and attack it.
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According to the researchers, intismeran is “well-tolerated” with a “manageable” safety profile.
The most commonly cited side effects of the personalized mRNA vaccine plus KEYTRUDA were fatigue, injection-site pain, chills, fever and headache. The researchers reported no new long-term safety concerns and no severe vaccine-related adverse events.
The combination therapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 study — the final confirmation stage.
Patients with late-stage melanoma have a “significant risk” of cancer recurrence, according to an expert. (iStock)
In a Merck press release from January, Kyle Holen, MD, Moderna’s senior vice president and head of development, oncology and therapeutics, noted that this data highlights the “potential of a prolonged benefit … in patients with resected high-risk melanoma.”
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“We continue to invest in our platform in oncology because of encouraging outcomes like these, which illustrate mRNA’s potential in cancer care,” he said.
Dr. Marjorie Green, senior vice president and head of oncology, global clinical development at Merck Research Laboratories, also commented that for many patients with stage 3 or 4 melanoma, there is a “significant risk of recurrence following surgery.”
Researchers confirmed that the combination therapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 study. (iStock)
“As such, demonstrating the longer-term potential of intismeran autogene and KEYTRUDA to reduce the risk of recurrence for certain patients with melanoma is a meaningful milestone,” she said.
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The company cited encouraging five-year follow-up data and pointed to upcoming late-stage INTerpath trial results with Moderna in several hard-to-treat cancers.
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An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
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Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
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The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
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The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
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This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
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“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
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While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
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Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
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Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
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The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
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After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
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These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
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However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
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A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
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The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
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