Lifestyle Changes could Prevent Half Of All Cancers
Almost half of cancers could be prevented by changes in the way we live our lives
, according to the most comprehensive study of its kind. Smoking, drinking, diet and excess weight are the leading causes of cancer, together responsible for a third of Britains 314, 000 annual cancer cases, the research found. Tens of thousands more are caused by environmental factors such as sunlight, infections, lack of exercise and exposure to harmful chemicals at work.
While no individual cancer can be definitely attributed to these causes, researchers said that people could stack the odds in their favour with healthier lifestyles.
Smoking is far and away the leading cause of cancer, the Cancer Research UK study found. It accounts for 23 per cent of male cancers and 16 per cent of female ones, meaning there would be 60, 000 fewer cancers every year if no one in Britain smoked. This includes not just 89 per cent of lung cancers, but a significant proportion of many others, including those of the stomach, liver, and pancreas.
Being overweight or obese is responsible for 5.5 per cent of British cancers, followed by not eating enough fruit and vegetables, at 4.7 per cent. Eating red meat, too much salt or not enough fibre add another 4.7 per cent, followed by drinking alcohol at 4 per cent.
Professor Max Parkin of Queen Mary, University of London, who led the research, said: Many people believe cancer is down to fate or in the genes and that it is the luck of the draw whether they get it. Looking at all the evidence, its clear that 40 per cent of all cancers are caused by things we mostly have the power to change.
We didnt expect to find that eating fruit and vegetable would prove to be so important in protecting men against cancer. And among women, we didnt expect being overweight to have a greater effect than alcohol.
Professor Parkin added that people could improve their odds by changing lifestyle, but could not be certain of the results. Even if you bet on the favourite in a horse race, you cant guarantee youre going to clean up, he said.
Doctors agree that certain proportions of many cancers are attributable to particular environmental causes. Professor Parkin used these estimates to analyse data on British cancer incidence, concluding that 45 per cent of all cancers in men could be prevented, and 40 per cent of those in women.
About 90 per cent of Britains 40, 000 annual cases of lung cancer could be prevented, mostly through people quitting smoking, he concluded in the British Journal of Cancer. A quarter of breast cancers and half of bowel cancers could also be prevented by lifestyle changes, the study found. However, prostate cancer, Britains most common cancer among men, is not thought to be preventable.
by: Rocco R. Burris
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