Four in ten cancers worldwide are preventable, says WHO
In 2022, an estimated 7.1 million of 18.7 million new adult cancer cases were attributable to modifiable risk factors
On the eve of World Cancer Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) and its cancer research arm, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, outlined new evidence showing how much of today’s cancer burden could be avoided through prevention.
A major global analysis of cancer cases linked to 30 modifiable risk factors, including: tobacco smoking, alcohol use, high body mass index, physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, air pollution, and selected occupational and environmental exposures. The study also accounts for nine infections, underscoring the role of preventable infectious causes such as Human papillomavirus-related (HPV) disease and hepatitis (HBV).
The headline result is that about four in ten cancers worldwide are preventable. In 2022, an estimated 7.1 million of 18.7 million new adult cancer cases were attributable to these risk factors, roughly 37.8% of the global burden. Smoking alone accounted for 3.3 million cases, infections for 2.2 million, and alcohol for around 700,000, making them the largest drivers of preventable disease.
The preventable share varies sharply by region and sex. For men, nearly 45% of cancers were linked to these exposures, with the highest proportions in East Asia. For women, the figure was closer to 30%, with the largest burden in Sub-Saharan Africa, where infections, especially HPV, dominate.
WHO officials stressed that prevention must focus on risk reduction, not blame, pairing individual action with policies that make healthy choices easier: tobacco taxation, vaccination, cleaner air, safer workplaces, and equitable access to screening and care.