Study says 40% of cancers are preventable in the United Kingdom
2,361 viewsA study released on Wednesday (7) shows that 40% of cancer cases in the UK could be avoided if patients avoid harmful health habits like smoking, drinking too much alcohol, having an unhealthy diet and keep up of weight.
The data were gathered by scientists from Cancer Research UK and published in the medical journal “British Journal of Cancer.”
Only in 2010, the four factors caused 106,845 cases of malignant tumors. This number equates to one third of all cancers diagnosed in this country in years passado.O tumors reported total was calculated based on the pattern of disease incidence between the years 1993 to 2007.
According to British experts, smoking is the major risk factor for developing the disease, accounting for 23% of male cases and 15.6% of tumors in women.
When considering 10 other risk factors also related to lifestyle and environment, the number of cancers up to 134 thousand.
In all, one every 25 patients developed cancer because of where they work. One in 33 people had the disease due to infections.
To Professor Max Parkin, an epidemiologist at the institute and the University of London (Queen Mary), many people still believe that cancer is merely a question of genetics and that luck is the one who determines whether or not someone will develop the disease.
The expert warned that many tumors can have multiple causes as in the case of cancer of the cervix, which may be caused simultaneously by the HPV virus and by smoking.