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Tribune News Service

About 40 per cent of new cancer cases among US adults – and nearly half of all cancer deaths – are linked to lifestyle risk factors including smoking, obesity and alcohol consumption, according to a new study by the American Cancer Society.
The study points to the possibility that the daily choices people make can give them some control over their cancer risk. The exact cause of most cancers are unknown and many are outside an individual’s control.
A list of lifestyle risk factors were identified in the study that put people at a greater risk of a cancer diagnosis in their lifetimes.
Cigarette smoking was by far the leading risk factor, contributing to nearly one in five cancer cases and about a third of all cancer deaths.

Excess body weight was next, contributing to nearly eight per cent of cancer cases, followed by alcohol consumption and excessive sun exposure, each linked to about five per cent of cases.
Physical inactivity was associated with three per cent of cancer cases.
Researchers analysed 18 risk factors across 30 types of cancers. Other risk factors that contributed to cancer cases at a lesser degree include eating red and processed meat; low consumption of fruits and vegetables; and infections with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and human papillomavirus (HPV), according to researchers.
The findings were published this month in the journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
In 2019, these lifestyle factors were linked to nearly 715,000 cancer cases and about 262,000 deaths.

The findings are not exactly new, but they add to mounting research that shows many cancer cases – and as many as half the deaths – can be prevented with lifestyle changes.
“Despite considerable declines in smoking prevalence during the past few decades, the number of lung cancer deaths attributable to cigarette smoking in the United States is alarming,” said Dr Farhad Islami, senior scientific director of cancer disparity research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the report.
The finding underscores the importance of comprehensive tobacco control policies to stop smoking, and the need to boost screening for early detection of lung cancer, when treatment could be more effective, he added.
Islami said interventions to help maintain a healthy body weight could lower the number of cases and deaths, and is particularly important among young people with early-onset cancers. Cancer cases in people under 50 have seen a sharp rise in recent years.
Despite the findings that people have more control than they think over their cancer risk, there are still many questions about who gets cancer and why.

About 10 per cent of cancers are caused by factors that were inherited or genetic.
Colon cancer, which was once a more distant cause of cancer death in both men and women, is now a leading cause of cancer death for men and women under 50.
Experts say some risk factors including obesity and a lack of physical activity could be playing a role but they still do not know what’s causing the jump in cases among younger adults.
In Hong Kong, the Cancer Registry recorded 38,462 cancer cases in 2021, the most recent year for which statistics are available. There were 5,978 cases of lung cancer, 5,899 cases of colon cancer, 5,592 of breast cancer, 3,038 of prostate cancer, 1,771 of liver cancer and 1,306 of stomach cancer. That year, 15,108 people died of cancer.
In this new ACS study, researchers used nationally representative data on cancer incidence and mortality and risk factor prevalence to estimate the proportion and number of cancer cases and deaths attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors overall for 30 cancer types.

The study does not include non-melanoma skin cancers.
Some cancers have more of a direct link to risk factors than others, according to the study. For example, about 90 per cent of melanoma cases are linked to ultraviolet radiation, and virtually every case of cervical cancer is linked to HPV infection, which can be prevented with an HPV vaccine, according to the study.
Lung cancer tops the list, with the most number of cases associated with a modifiable risk factor – the vast majority linked to smoking, including current and former smoking habits as well as second-hand smoke.
Being overweight was associated with 11 per cent of breast cancer cases, 14 per cent of stomach cancer cases and about half of endometrial cancer cases.
“These findings show there is a continued need to increase equitable access to preventive healthcare and awareness about preventive measures,” added Dr Ahmedin Jemal, senior vice-president, surveillance and health equity science at the American Cancer Society and senior author of the study.

Additional reporting by staff reporter
Like what you read? Follow SCMP Lifestyle on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also sign up for our eNewsletter here.


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Wellness

Your lifestyle choices may heighten your risk of getting cancer, new study underscores

Avoidable lifestyle behaviours such as smoking, overeating, drinking alcohol and lack of exercise increase your risk of cancer and of dying from cancer, according to a new study. Photo: Shutterstock

Cigarette smoking is by far the leading cancer risk factor, contributing to nearly one in five cancer cases and about a third of all cancer deaths, a new study shows. Photo: Shutterstock 

For Dr Farhad Islami, senior scientific director of cancer disparity research at the American Cancer Society, the number of cancer deaths attributable to smoking is alarming. Photo: Dr Farhad Islami/X

Being overweight is linked to an increased risk of cancer – but it’s never too late to change your lifestyle. Photo: Shutterstock

Getting more physically active could help lower your risk of several cancers. Photo: Shutterstock

There is a continued need to increase equitable access to preventive healthcare and awareness about preventive measures, says Dr Ahmedin Jemal, senior author of the American Cancer Society study. Photo: American Cancer Society

Early-onset cancers rising, survival rates too: how 2 young Hong Kong women beat cancer

Angie Yan celebrating her 25th birthday in Hong Kong, a year after being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. While early-onset cancers are on the rise, survival rates for young patients are also high. Photo: Angie Yan

Yan, an accomplished trail runner, takes part in the Mount Fuji 100 event in Japan in April. Photo: The North Face

Yan takes part in the Mount Fuji 100 race, in which she came third. Photo: The North Face

Yan with her mother at Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centre in Hong Kong. Photo: Angie Yan

Phoenix Ng is a social worker and case manager of the Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society’s Jockey Club Cancer Survivorship Care Project. Photo: Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society 

Ng recommends cancer patients acknowledge their emotions and learn to express their feelings – such as through art therapy. Photo: Shutterstock

Why more cancer is being diagnosed in younger people – and how lifestyle changes reduce the risk

Actor Chadwick Boseman died from cancer aged 43. Photo: AFP

Diagnoses of cancer – especially colorectal cancer – are increasing among under-50s, even as global cancer deaths decrease. Simple lifestyle and diet changes - more exercise, fewer sugary drinks, less ultra-processed food - can offset that increased risk. Photo: Shutterstock

Chadwick Boseman in a still from “Black Panther”. The actor died from colon cancer aged 43. Photo: Marvel Studios

Cancer among younger people is rising globally. 20 per cent of all colorectal cancer diagnoses in 2019 were in patients younger than 55. Photo: Shutterstock

Dr Ashley Cheng is clinical director of oncology at the CUHK Medical Centre. Photo: Dr Ashley Cheng

Cancer campaigner Dame Deborah James (pictured with her brother Benjamin James) at the Royal Ascot horse racing event in the UK in 2022. She was diagnosed with bowel cancer aged 35 and died that year, aged 40. Photo: David Benett/Getty Images

How to deal with a cancer diagnosis: focus on treatment options, stay positive, doctor says; survivor advises asking questions and letting emotions out

Chang Hsiu-yun, a Pilates instructor at the Hong Kong Cancer Fund, at one of the fund’s support centres in Kwai Chung. The cancer survivor and a doctor give their advice on how to deal with a cancer diagnosis. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Chang exercises at a Hong Kong Cancer Fund support centre, in Kwai Chung. Photo: Jonathan Wong

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Lifestyle

Health & Wellness

Health

Nearly 1 in 2 cancer deaths are linked to lifestyle risk factors such as drinking alcohol, smoking and being obese – things you can change


Avoidable lifestyle behaviours such as smoking, overeating, drinking alcohol and lack of exercise increase your risk of cancer, according to a new study. But it’s never too late to change.
