Two in five cancers worldwide are likely preventable, says new research - medicalxpress

a,b, Leading modifiable risk factors for incident cancer cases by country in 2022, for women (a) and men (b). Credit: Nature Medicine (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41591-026-04219-7

Nearly 40% of new cancer cases worldwide in 2022 may be associated with modifiable risk factors, according to an analysis of 36 cancer types from 185 countries. The findings suggest that reducing exposures such as tobacco smoking, certain infections, and alcohol use remains essential for cancer prevention.

The study is published in the journal Nature Medicine.

Cancer is a leading cause of illness and death around the world, and its burden varies across regions partly because populations are exposed to different modifiable risk factors. These include behavioral, environmental, infectious, and work-related risks—which are potentially preventable. Understanding how the global cancer burden may relate to these risk factors can help countries to plan prevention programs suited to their own priorities.

Researcher Hanna Fink and colleagues estimated the global and national cancer burden that may be attributable to 30 modifiable risk factors. They combined incidence data from 2022 (from 36 types of cancer across 185 countries) with how common these exposures were about 10 years earlier. They then calculated the associations between cases and each risk factor while acknowledging that some risk factors can occur together.

According to the authors, in total, about 7.1 million of the 18.7 million new cancer cases (37.8%) in 2022 were potentially attributable to these modifiable risk factors, including 2.7 million (29.7%) in women and 4.3 million (45.4%) in men. Tobacco smoking (15.1%), infections (10.2%), and alcohol consumption (3.2%) were the leading contributors, and lung, stomach, and cervical cancers were estimated to constitute nearly half of these potentially preventable cases.

For women across the globe, infections such as those caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) or Helicobacter pylori appeared to be the biggest risk factor for cancers, and were associated with 11.5% of cases. However, for men globally, the biggest risk factor was smoking, which was associated with 23.1% of cases.

The authors also highlight various geographic trends. For example, women in sub-Saharan Africa appeared to have the highest burden of cancer associated with modifiable risk factors (38.2% of cases), while women in Northern Africa and Western Asia had the lowest burden (24.6% of cases). Meanwhile, 57.2% of cancer cases in men in East Asia were associated with modifiable risk factors, compared to 28.1% of cases for men in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The findings highlight potential opportunities for cancer prevention, including tobacco control, preventing infections, and nationally adapted strategies suited to each region. The authors note that data quality and availability vary widely across regions, with particularly large gaps in low and middle income countries where cancer and risk factor data are often limited. Better surveillance and more detailed data would help strengthen future estimates and improve policy guidance, they conclude. 

Provided by Nature Publishing Group 

by Nature Publishing Group

edited by Stephanie Baum, reviewed by Andrew Zinin 

Source: Two in five cancers worldwide are likely preventable, says new research