The World Health Organization reports that, behind heart disease, cancer is the second largest cause of mortality worldwide. Incredibly, nearly half of cancer-related fatalities worldwide can be attributed to avoidable risk factors, according to a recent study. On the plus side, research demonstrates that a number of cancer risks and deaths can be averted by managing and limiting modifiable risk factors.
Studying the data, however, also reveals that these deaths would have been avoided if those people had been able to control their controllable risk factors, particularly the major ones controlled by lifestyle choices and poverty levels.
Results of the study:
According to the study, risk factors that may be avoided could contribute to 44.4% of all cancer deaths in 2019. The statistics also revealed a rise in these cancer fatalities linked to risk, with a global increase of 20.4% from 2010 to 2019. This is undoubtedly a hint that better lifestyle modifications need to be ingrained.
The top three risk factors for cancer mortality around the world are as follows:
Smoking:
Cigarette smoke contains chemicals that harm your DNA and make it more difficult for your cells to repair any damage. Additionally, they harm the DNA regions that work as a real defence against cancer. Cancer is caused by the accumulation of DNA damage in one cell over time. Almost any region of the body can develop cancer as a result of cigarette smoking. The mouth and throat, oesophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, liver, pancreas, larynx, trachea, bronchus, kidney and renal pelvis, urinary bladder, and cervix are among the organs that can develop cancer as a result of it.
Drinking too much alcohol:
Regular and excessive alcohol use can harm your liver, causing inflammation and scarring that can increase your chance of developing liver cancer. Additionally, drinking alcohol has been associated with an increased risk of rectum and colon malignancies. Reducing your alcohol use can help lower your risk of developing cancer. The more you can minimise your consumption, the lower your risk will be. You’ll have a lower chance of accidents, high blood pressure, and liver disease if you drink less alcohol.
High Body Mass Index (BMI):
In addition to increasing your risk of acquiring some types of cancer, being overweight can also increase the likelihood that the disease will return even after treatment. This is due, in part, to the fact that carrying additional weight elevates your levels of the hormones insulin and insulin growth factor-1, which can promote the growth of various malignancies.
Additionally, fat tissue makes more oestrogen, which may contribute to the growth of breast cancer. Obesity increases the likelihood of having or developing chronic, low-level inflammation, which is also associated with a higher risk of developing cancer. This is especially true if there is more fat around the belly.
Relevance of the study:
These results show that interventions aimed at reducing exposure to known cancer risk factors have the potential to prevent a sizeable portion of cancer burden globally, but they also show that a sizable portion of cancer burden may not be avoidable through control of the risk factors currently estimated, according to the researchers.
Therefore, the researchers concluded, “efforts to reduce the risk of cancer must be combined with comprehensive cancer control plans that include initiatives to assist early diagnosis and efficient treatment.” Cancer screening is crucial, especially for people who are at higher risk.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provided funding for the article, which was released on Thursday in the journal The Lancet. The Global Burden of Disease project of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation provided the data for the analysis of the link between risk factors and cancer. The researchers focused on cancer-related fatalities and disabilities from 2010 to 2019 across 204 nations for this study, looking at 34 risk factors and 23 different cancer types.
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