A recent study by the American Cancer Society (ACS) shows that four out of ten cancer cases and half of cancer deaths among adults over 30 in the United States in 2019 were due to modifiable risk factors such as smoking, obesity and alcohol. Smoking was the predominant cause, linked to 20% of cases and 30% of deaths, emphasizing the need for strict tobacco control and cancer screening.
The study shows that modifiable risk factors, particularly smoking, account for 40% of cancer cases and 50% of cancer deaths among US adults over 30, underscoring the need for better tobacco control, better management of obesity and preventive health measures.
A recent study by the American Cancer Society (ACS) shows that 40% of cancer cases and approximately 50% of cancer deaths among adults aged 30 and older in the United States, or 713,340 cases and 262,120 deaths in 2019, could be linked to avoidable risk factors . These include smoking, obesity, alcohol consumption, lack of physical activity, poor diet and infections. In particular, smoking is the predominant risk factor, accounting for nearly 20% of all cancer cases and 30% of all cancer deaths. The study was published in the journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
“Despite a significant decline in the prevalence of smoking in recent decades, the number of lung cancer deaths attributable to smoking in the United States is alarming. This finding highlights the importance of implementing comprehensive tobacco control policies in all states to promote smoking cessation , as well as increased efforts to increase lung cancer screening to detect it earlier, so that treatment can be more effective,” said Dr. Farhad Islami, senior scientific director of cancer disparities at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the report. “Interventions to help maintain a healthy body weight and diet can also significantly reduce the number of cancer cases and deaths in the country, especially given the increasing incidence of several types of cancer associated with excess body weight, especially in younger individuals. »
Credit: American Cancer Society
Research methodology and detailed results
In this study, researchers used nationally representative data on cancer incidence and mortality and the prevalence of risk factors to estimate the proportion and number of cancer cases and deaths attributable to factors of potentially modifiable risks in general (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer). 30 types of cancer. These risk factors included smoking (current and former smoker); passive smoking; excess body weight; Alcohol consumption; consumption of red and processed meat; low consumption of fruit and vegetables, dietary fiber and dietary calcium; physical inactivity; ultraviolet (UV) rays; and Epstein-Barr virus infection
