Half of all cancer deaths worldwide are caused by preventable factors

A new study confirmed that about half of cancer deaths worldwide are caused by preventable risk factors, the most important of which are smoking, drinking alcohol and obesity.

According to CNN, the study team analyzed health data issued by the “Global Burden of Disease” project of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, an institute specializing in global research established in 2007 in Washington.

The team focused their analysis on cancer deaths between 2010 and 2019 in 204 countries, examining 23 cancers and 34 risk factors.

The researchers found that 44.4 percent of all cancer deaths were caused by preventable risk factors, and that 2.88 million male cancer deaths were attributable to these factors, compared to 1.58 million female deaths, accounting for 50.6% of all male cancer deaths and 36. 3% in females.

The study team added that the most prominent risk factors leading to cancer are smoking, excessive drinking of alcohol and high body mass index.

The study pointed out that the top five regions in terms of mortality rates attributed to risk factors are: Central Europe, East Asia, North America, Southern Latin America, and Western Europe.

"This study demonstrates that the burden of cancer remains an important public health challenge, increasing in size worldwide," said Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and one of the study's senior authors.

"Our findings can help policy makers and researchers identify key risk factors that can be targeted in efforts to reduce mortality and morbidity at the regional, national and global levels," he added.

The new study, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was published in the scientific journal The Lancet.

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