Almost half of cancer deaths worldwide are due to preventable factors

Almost half of the deaths caused by cancer in the world are due to risk factors related to tobacco and alcohol consumption and poor eating habits, according to a study. studying led by the University of Washington, which is published in the journal The Lancet.

The team reviewed data from the Global Burden of Disease, Injury, and Risk Factor (GBD) study and analyzed the impact of 34 risk factors on health and mortality from 23 types of cancer, which were responsible for 4.45 million deaths worldwide in 2019, 44.4% of the total.

a high index of body massThe smoke it’s him alcohol consumption They are among the main risk factors for both sexes, although they affect men more due to environmental, occupational and behavioral factors, highlights this work.

A major public health challenge

50.6% of all cancer deaths in men in 2019 were due to the risk factors studied, compared to 36.3% in women. Likewise, the global number of cancer deaths related to risk factors increased by 20.4% between 2010 and 2019 and differed considerably by age. level of development of each country.

Cancer remains a major public health challenge and is growing in magnitude worldwide. Tobacco use remains the leading risk factor for cancer worldwide.

Christopher Murray, co-author of the study

“This study shows that cancer remains a major public health challenge and is growing in magnitude worldwide. Tobacco use remains the leading risk factor for cancer globally. Christopher Murraydirector of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

The expert ensures that his findings “can help policymakers and researchers identify key risk factors to direct their efforts to reduce mortality and improve patient health on a global, national and regional scale.”

The numbers behind cancer

Murray recalls that 36.9% of all deaths attributable to risk factors globally, both in men and women, were caused by cancers of the lung, trachea and bronchi, all related to smoke.

They are followed for men by colon cancer (13.3%), esophagus (9.7%) and stomach (6.6%), while in women cervical cancer (17.9%) stands out. , colon and rectum (15.8%) and breast (11%).

The study also found that in 2019, 25.4% of all cancer deaths and 26.5% of all cancer deaths attributable to risk factors occurred “disproportionately” in developing countries. high sociodemographic indexdespite representing only 13.1% of the global population.

In this sense, the five regions with the highest mortality rates due to risk factors were Central Europe, with 82 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, East Asia (69.8/100,000), North America (66/100,000), Latin America South (64.2/100,000) and Western Europe (63.8/100,000).

Population aging, metabolic risk and data

As observed Rafael Marcos Grageraepidemiologist at the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), to SMC Spain“The results of this study coincide with others carried out in different geographical areas (France, UK, Australia and USA) in which the proportion of cancer deaths due to modifiable risk factors would be approximately 40%.

This researcher, who was not involved in the study, adds that “an important result is geographic inequality in reducing the impact of risk factors on years of life lost due to disability”.

Marcos Gragera highlights that the study indicates that “the ageing population has an important weight on the disease burden due to modifiable risk factors. On the other hand, the increased cancer burden attributable to metabolic riskespecially in low-income countries, may be the result of those countries going through an epidemiological transition where improvements in the country’s development status are related to rising levels of obesity.”

“One of the most important results of this study is that in order for us to be able to assess the impact of cancer control measures, whether primary or secondary prevention, as well as assess progress in cancer treatment – ​​new treatments – we need quality data both incidence and mortality, especially in countries where there are no consolidated information systems”, he emphasizes.