Noin the world they are diagnosed every year approximately 19 million new cases of cancer. A number that impresses and that, on the occasion of the recent World Cancer Day on February 4threturns to question everyone: institutions, health systems, but also individual citizens. The news, however, is that nearly 40% of these cancers could be prevented. Not with futuristic therapies or revolutionary discoveries, but with concrete, daily prevention, already possible today. This is according to an international study published in Nature Medicine and indexed on PubMedcoordinated byInternational Agency for Research on Cancer and fromWorld Health Organization. A massive analysis, which examined 36 types of cancer in 185 countriesestimating for the first time on a global scale how much the burden of the disease is linked to modifiable risk factors.
The numbers that change perspective
According to the study, in 2022 7.1 million new cancer cases were attributable to 30 avoidable risk factors. In other words, more than one in three tumors it wasn’t inevitable. The share of preventable cases varies:
- between 25% and 38% in women
- between 28% and 57% in men
A difference that reflects different lifestyles, but also social, environmental and employment inequalities.
The main culprits: not just smoking
The first risk factor remains the tobaccoresponsible alone for 15% of tumors globally. They follow:
- oncogenic infections (10%), such as HPV, Helicobacter pylori and viral hepatitis
- alcohol consumption (3.2%)
- overweight and obesityphysical inactivity
- air pollution
- ultraviolet radiation
- professional exhibitions to carcinogenic substances
These are not abstract risks. They are elements that run through everyday life: what we smoke, drink, eat, the air we breathe, the conditions in which we work.
The most “preventable” cancers
Almost half of preventable cancers concerns three specific locations: lung, stomach, uterine cervix. In the case of cervical cancer, for example, prevention involves tools that are already available and tested: anti-HPV vaccination And regular screenings. Yet, in many areas of the world (including Italy), coverage remains insufficient.
Prevention: a collective choice, not an individual one
As the authors of the study point out, talking about prevention does not mean shifting responsibility onto individuals. Reducing the impact of risk factors requires: effective anti-smoking policies, access to healthy foods and spaces to move, cleaner air, safe working environments and accessible vaccination and screening programmes. Prevention is a public investment that produces health, social and economic benefits.
