According to a new World Health Organization analysis, addressing smoking, infections, alcohol, and air pollution could prevent up to 40% of cancer cases worldwide
Up to four in ten cancer cases worldwide could be prevented, the World Health Organization has said, underscoring the urgent need for prevention as the world marks World Cancer Day yesterday, 4 February. The report urges stronger global action against major causes like smoking, infections, alcohol, and air pollution, aiming to save millions of lives.
Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of cancer globally
The study draws on data from 185 countries and 36 cancer types, estimating that 37% of all new cancer cases in 2022, around 7.1 million cases, were linked to preventable causes, such as high body mass index, physical inactivity and ultraviolet radiation.
The data highlighted that tobacco is the leading preventable cause of cancer, globally responsible for 15% of all new cancer cases, followed by infections (10%) and alcohol consumption (3%).
Three cancer types – lung, stomach and cervical cancer – accounted for nearly half of all preventable cancer cases in both men and women, globally.
Specifically, lung cancer was primarily linked to smoking and air pollution, stomach cancer was largely connected to Helicobacter pylori infection, and cervical cancer was caused by human papillomavirus (HPV).
“This is the first global analysis to show how much cancer risk comes from causes we can prevent,” said Dr André Ilbawi, WHO Team Lead for Cancer Control, and author of the study. “By examining patterns across countries and population groups, we can provide governments and individuals with more specific information to help prevent many cancer cases before they start.”
Men face a higher risk of preventable cancers than women
The study found that preventable cancer was found in a substantially higher number of men than in women, with 45% of new cancer cases in men compared with 30% in women.
In men, smoking accounted for an estimated 23% of all new cancer cases, followed by infections at 9% and alcohol at 4%. Among women globally, infections accounted for 11% of all new cancer cases, followed by smoking at 6% and high body mass index at 3%.
Preventable cancer varied widely between regions. In women, preventable cancers ranged from 24% in North Africa and West Asia to 38% in sub-Saharan Africa. Among men, the highest burden was observed in East Asia at 57%, and the lowest in Latin America and the Caribbean at 28%. These differences highlight varying exposure to behavioural, environmental, occupational and infectious risk factors. Differences in socioeconomic development, national prevention policies, and health system capacity also affected these figures.
These findings emphasise the need for key prevention strategies about tobacco, alcohol, vaccination against cancer-causing infections, air pollution, whilst encouraging safe workplaces, healthier diets, and more physical activity.
“This landmark study is a comprehensive assessment of preventable cancer worldwide, incorporating for the first time infectious causes of cancer alongside behavioural, environmental, and occupational risks,” said Dr Isabelle Soerjomataram, Deputy Head of the IARC Cancer Surveillance Unit and senior author of the study. “Addressing these preventable causes represents one of the most powerful opportunities to reduce the global cancer burden.”
