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CNN — Nearly 1 in 5 new cancer cases among adults ages 30 and older in the US in 2019 could be attributed to smoking, according to a new study. About 40% of new cancer cases among adults ages 30 and older in the United States — and nearly half of deaths — could be attributed to preventable risk factors, according to a new study from the American Cancer Society.
“These are things that people can practically change how they live every single day to reduce their risk of cancer,” said Dr. Arif Kamal, chief patient officer with the American Cancer Society.
Smoking was the leading risk factor by far, the study found, contributing to nearly 1 in 5 cancer cases and nearly a third of cancer deaths. Other key risk factors included excess body weight, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, diet and infections such as HPV.
Overall, researchers analyzed 18 modifiable risk factors across 30 types of cancer. In 2019, these lifestyle factors were linked to more than 700,000 new cancer cases and more than 262,000 deaths, the study found.
Cancer grows because of DNA damage or because it has a fuel source, Kamal said. Other things — such as genetics or environmental factors — can also create these biological conditions, but modifiable risks explain a significantly larger share of cancer cases and deaths than any other known factors. Exposure to sunlight can damage DNA and lead to skin cancer, for example, while fat cells produce hormones that can feed certain cancers.
“With cancer, it often feels like you have no control,” Kamal said.
“People think about bad luck or bad genetics, but people need to feel a sense of control and agency.” Certain cancers are more preventable than others, the new study suggests.
But modifiable risk factors: The 10 Commandments of Cancer Prevention.
There were 10 types of cancer where modifiable risk factors could be attributed to at least 80% of new cases, including more than 90% of melanoma cases linked to ultraviolet radiation and nearly all cases of cervical cancer linked to HPV infection, which can be prevented with a vaccine.
Lung cancer had the largest number of cases attributable to modifiable risk factors — more than 104,000 cases among men and 97,000 among women — and the vast majority were linked to smoking.
After smoking, excess body weight was the second largest contributor to cancer cases, linked to about 5% of new cases in men and nearly 11% of cases in women. It was associated with more than a third of deaths from cancer of the endometrium, gallbladder, esophagus, liver and kidney, the new study found.
Another recent study found that the risk for certain cancers was significantly reduced for people taking popular weight-loss and diabetes medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy.
“Obesity is emerging, in some ways, as just as potent of a risk for people as smoking is,” said Dr. Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. He was not involved in the new study, but has prior experience working on cancer prevention initiatives.
Intervening on a set of “core behavioral risk factors” — quitting smoking, eating well and exercising, for example — can make a “dramatic difference in the rates and outcomes of chronic diseases,” Plescia said. And cancer is one of those chronic diseases, just like heart disease or diabetes.
Policymakers and health officials should work to “create environments where it’s easier for people, where the healthy choice is the easy choice,” he said. And it’s particularly important for people who are living in historically disadvantaged neighborhoods, where it might not be safe to exercise or easy to get to a store with healthy food.
As rates of early-onset cancer rise in the US, it’s especially important to create healthy habits early, experts say. It’s harder to quit smoking once you’ve started or lose weight that you’ve gained.
But “it’s never too late to make these changes,” Plescia said. “Turning (health behaviors) around later in life can make a profound difference.”
And making lifestyle changes to minimize exposure to certain factors can reduce cancer risk relatively quickly, experts say.
“Cancer is something your body fights every single day as your cells divide,” Kamal said. “It’s a risk that you face every day, and that also means that the reduction of the risks can benefit you every day as well.”
There’s new evidence of the health benefits of avoiding smoking, excessive drinking and being dangerously overweight: they are the leading preventable causes of cancer in adults, a new study found.
An American Cancer Society study published this week estimates 40% of new cancer cases or 44% of cancer deaths in people 30 and over could be avoided if people cut out high-risk behaviors, such as smoking and drinking. Experts say the study provides fresh evidence for public health leaders to encourage people to adopt healthy lifestyles to reduce the risk of cancer and ample evidence that people should take action to prevent it.
The American Cancer Society study examined cancer cases and deaths that could have been prevented through behavior and diet changes or vaccines for HPV and hepatitis B, which reduce the risk of cancer-causing infections.
Behaviors that can raise cancer risk include smoking, exposure to second-hand smoke, drinking alcohol and being overweight. Consumption of too much red meat or processed meat and diets short on fruits and vegetables, dietary fiber or calcium also increase the odds of getting cancer. The study cited cancer risk from infections such as hepatitis B, Epstein-Barr virus, HIV, human papillomavirus and Kaposi sarcoma herpes virus.
To illustrate how cigarette smoking is still an issue in today’s society, about 160 students from Chillicothe High School’s … The Keys to Success program spent an hour Wednesday morning at Yoctangee Park picking up cigarette butts and replacing them with orange flag markers to help build momentum for the Great American Smoke out in November, which is sponsored by the American Cancer Society.
Experts not involved in the population-level study said it’s an important reminder for public health agencies and decision makers to adopt policies to encourage healthy behaviors.
The findings amount to “a big opportunity for our country – really every country – to reduce cancer incidence and mortality by being more proactive in prioritizing prevention at a personal level and at a societal level,” said Ernest Hawk, vice president and head of cancer prevention and population sciences at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Hawk said the purpose of a study like this is not to shame individuals who smoke or drink or engage in other high-risk behavior, but rather to inform and educate. “It’s hard to change one’s lifestyle immediately or consistently over time,” Hawk said. The goal is to help orient people “toward helpful behaviors and helpful policies that can assist them in making that choice easier.”
The study estimated that, in 2019, 40% of the nearly 1.8 million cancers in adults 30 and older were attributable to “potentially modifiable risk factors.” It examined 30 types of cancer and excluded non-melanoma skin cancers.
The causes of cancer the study said were preventable broke down like this:
∎ Cigarette smoking was the top risk factor, accounting for 19.3% of cases.
∎ Excess body weight was a risk factor in 7.6% of cases.
∎ Alcohol consumption was linked to 5.4% of cases.
∎ Ultraviolet radiation caused 4.6% of cases.
∎ If you smoke and drink doubles your cancer risk – Search (bing.com)
Smoking and drinking together significantly increase the risk of developing cancers in the aerodigestive tract, also including the mouth, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus1 2 3. Drinking about 3.5 drinks a day can double or even triple the risk of cancer1 3.
Lung cancer had the largest number of cases tied to preventable risk factors assessed by researchers. The study found 104,410 preventable lung cancers in men and 97,250 in women. The next most common preventable cancer included 50,570 cases of skin melanoma and 44,310 colorectal cancers.
“Despite considerable declines in smoking prevalence during the past few decades, the number of lung cancer deaths attributable to cigarette smoking in the United States is alarming,” said said Farad Islami, the American Cancer Society’s senior scientific director of cancer disparity research and the study’s lead author.
Islami added the study shows the need for tobacco control policies in every state that encourage people to quit smoking. He also cited the need for early detection of lung cancer.
American Cancer Society officials also stressed the importance of vaccines for hepatitis B and human papillomavirus, or HPV. Hepatitis B causes liver cancer and HPV can lead to multiple types of cancer, including cervical, anal and genital cancers and cancer of the mouth and throat.
Earlier this year, the American Cancer Society projected U.S. cancer cases would eclipse 2 million for the first time this year. However, the report said lower smoking rates, earlier detection and improved treatments have lowered death rates over the past three decades.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:
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