Nearly half of U.S. cancer deaths blamed on unhealthy behavior

in cancer •  7 years ago 


By Kate Sheridan in Newsweek.

Nearly half of all U.S. cancer cases and deaths—including the vast majority of lung cancer and skin cancer cases—are linked to people making lousy choices, according to a study published Tuesday in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, run by the American Cancer Society. Cigarette smoking, alone, accounted for 30 percent of all cancer deaths included in the study.

About 42 percent of cancer cases could have been prevented, the authors stated, "by effective preventive strategies, such as excise taxes on cigarettes to reduce smoking and vaccinations against HPV and HBV infections." Many of the authors are also affiliated with the American Cancer Society.

The identified links between behavior and certain cancers were not surprising. Smoking was linked to 81 percent of lung cancers, as well as a majority of two other cancers of the respiratory tract. And almost all the skin cancers in the study were associated with exposure to radiation that comes from the sun or a tanning booth.

Full news and image source credit: http://www.newsweek.com/americans-are-giving-themselves-cancer-half-cases-caused-lifestyle-719512

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