Tobacco is the main element that has favored cancer (33.9%), ahead of alcohol (7.4%), according to a study of unparalleled magnitude, involving several thousand researchers in most of the countries of the world.
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A confirmation. Nearly half of cancers worldwide are attributable to a given risk factor, primarily tobacco and alcohol, concludes a gigantic study published Friday, August 19. The latter insists on the importance of preventive measures, without making them a panacea.
“According to our analysis, 44.4% of cancer deaths worldwide (…) are attributable to a risk factor that has been measured”advances this study, published in the Lancet (in English) and carried out within the framework of the Global Burden of Disease. This vast research program, funded by the Bill Gates Foundation, is of an unparalleled scale, involving several thousand researchers in most countries of the world.
This work therefore makes it possible to know more in detail the risk factors according to the regions of the world even if, on the whole, its conclusions confirm what was already known: tobacco is by far the main element having favored cancer (33, 9%), followed by alcohol (7.4%). Above all, these conclusions plead for giving a great place to prevention in public health, since many of these risk factors relate to behaviors that can be changed or modified.
However, a good half of cancers are not attributable to a given risk factor, which shows that prevention is not enough. This, according to the authors of the study, must therefore be accompanied by two other pillars: a sufficiently early diagnosis and effective treatments.