According to a global study published in The Lancet, almost half of all cancer deaths, or 44.4 percent, can be traced back to a known risk factor, primarily involving alcohol or tobacco use.
The research was funded by the Bill Gates Foundation. It involved the analysis of 34 risk factors, with tobacco far more destructive than alcohol use.
Based on the study, smoking remains perhaps the leading risk factor for cancer globally. Behavioral changes may help reduce the threat of disease.
“The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019,” the authors emphasized in their journal report.
“Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden.”
