The World Health Organisation and its cancer research arm, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, have revealed that about 40 per cent of cancer cases recorded worldwide could be prevented through effective public health measures and lifestyle changes.
The findings, released ahead of World Cancer Day on February 4, showed that an estimated 37 per cent of all new cancer cases in 2022 — about 7.1 million cases — were linked to avoidable risk factors, highlighting what the agencies described as the “enormous and underused power of prevention” in tackling the global cancer burden.
Drawing data from 185 countries and covering 36 cancer types, the analysis examined 30 preventable risk factors, including tobacco use, alcohol consumption, high body mass index, physical inactivity, air pollution, ultraviolet radiation and, for the first time in a global assessment, nine cancer-causing infections.
Tobacco remained the leading preventable cause of cancer worldwide, accounting for 15 per cent of new cases, followed by infections at 10 per cent and alcohol consumption at three per cent.
Three cancers — lung, stomach and cervical — made up nearly half of all preventable cancer cases globally in both men and women.
Lung cancer was driven largely by smoking and air pollution, stomach cancer was mainly linked to Helicobacter pylori infection, while cervical cancer was overwhelmingly caused by the human papillomavirus.
“This is the first global analysis to show how much cancer risk comes from causes we can prevent,” said the WHO Team Lead for Cancer Control and study co-author, Dr Heba Ilbawi.
“By examining patterns across countries and population groups, we can provide governments and individuals with more specific information to stop many cancer cases before they start.”
The report also found wide gender disparities. About 45 per cent of new cancer cases in men were linked to preventable causes, compared with 30 per cent in women.
Among men, smoking alone accounted for 23 per cent of new cases, followed by infections (nine per cent) and alcohol (four per cent).
For women, infections topped the list at 11 per cent, followed by smoking (six per cent) and high body mass index (three per cent).
Regional variations were equally stark.
Among women, preventable cancers ranged from 24 per cent in North Africa and West Asia to 38 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa.
Among men, East Asia recorded the highest burden at 57 per cent, while Latin America and the Caribbean had the lowest at 28 per cent.
Speaking on the findings, the Deputy Head of the IARC Cancer Surveillance Unit and senior author of the study, Dr Isabelle Soerjomataram, described the report as “a landmark assessment” of preventable cancer worldwide.
“Addressing these avoidable causes represents one of the most powerful opportunities to reduce the global cancer burden,” she said.
The agencies called for context-specific prevention strategies, including stronger tobacco and alcohol control policies, expanded vaccination against cancer-causing infections such as HPV and hepatitis B, improved air quality, safer workplaces, and healthier diets and physical activity environments.
They warned that failure to act would continue to cost millions of families their health and livelihoods, stressing that beyond saving lives, preventing cancer would significantly cut long-term healthcare costs and improve global wellbeing.
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