Over 97% of people are susceptible to cancer, but adhering to a healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk
Among the 20 types of cancers including lung cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer, more than 97% of people are susceptible to at least one cancer, and the risk of cancer is significantly increased for people with medium to high genetic risk and unhealthy lifestyles.
Recently, Shen Hongbing, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and a research team from the Department of Epidemiology, Global Health Center, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, led the research carried out by many universities in my country, which was published in the journal Cancer Research under the American Society for Cancer Research.
The researchers constructed the polygenic risk score (PRS) of 20 cancer loci, and used the biological sample information of 442501 people from the British Biobank to prospectively evaluate the overall cancer polygenic risk score (CPRS) and cancer risk Relationship.
Cancer is the most important cause of death in the world, and its occurrence is the result of the combined effect of genetic and environmental factors.
"Previous genetic research has discovered some genetic loci or DNA regions that have specific changes that can affect cancer risk. Based on this, individual cancer risk can be individualized. However, previous studies have mostly focused on individual cancers. How to construct a comprehensive The indicators for predicting the overall genetic risk of cancer are not yet clear." Zhu Meng, the co-first author of the paper and associate professor of the Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, told the Science and Technology Daily reporter.
Zhu Meng said that previous studies have shown that more than 40% of cancer cases and deaths can be attributed to unhealthy lifestyles. Individuals with high genetic risk can reduce the risk of breast cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer and other tumors by adopting a healthy lifestyle. .
However, it is not clear whether maintaining a healthy lifestyle is effective in reducing the overall risk of cancer.
"Based on this, the team used the results of the genome-wide association study to construct PRSs for 20 cancer sites, using the incidence of cancer in the UK Biobank as a weight, and establishing male and female CPRS by gender. On this basis , Using the biological information of the British Biobank to calculate the CPRS of each individual, and finally assess the relationship between CPRS and the risk of cancer." Zhu Meng said.
In the study, the research team formed a healthy lifestyle scoring system based on the subjects' "smoking, drinking, body mass index (BMI), physical activity, and eating habits factors" to evaluate healthy lifestyles among people with different genetic risks. Protective effect on cancer.
"We define a healthy lifestyle as not smoking or quitting smoking for more than 30 years; not drinking alcohol; BMI value of normal body shape is 18.5-30; at least 75 minutes of vigorous exercise or 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or a combination of equal amounts per week; eating more fruits , Vegetables, whole wheat grains, fish, eat less red meat and processed meat.” Zhu Meng said.
Studies have found that the PRS of 20 cancers are independent of each other, and almost all are related to the risk of cancer in a specific site. More than 97% of individuals are susceptible to at least one cancer. “This means that almost everyone is susceptible to at least one cancer. Types of cancer." Zhu Meng interpreted.
Among them, compared with subjects with low genetic risk, men with moderate or high genetic risk increased overall cancer risk by 27% and 91%, respectively, while women increased by 21% and 62%, respectively.
Further research has shown that genetic and lifestyle factors have a combined effect on overall cancer risk.
Zhu Meng said that compared with people with low genetic risk and healthy lifestyles, the risk of cancer in men with high genetic risk and unhealthy lifestyles increased by 1.99 times, and that in women by 1.38 times.
Among the high genetic risk populations identified by CPRS, if a healthy lifestyle is adopted, the standardized 5-year cancer incidence rate for men is reduced from 7.23% to 5.51%, and for women, it is reduced from 5.77% to 3.69%.
"The study has constructed CPRS, which can quantify the overall genetic risk of cancer, and proves that almost everyone is at high risk of cancer, and a healthy lifestyle can reduce the overall risk of cancer." Zhu Meng believes that improving dietary patterns, maintaining exercise and Controlling tobacco and alcohol consumption is essential to reduce the risk of cancer in the general population.
Our reporter Jinfeng, correspondent Jiang Haiting