4 in 10 U.S. Cancer Cases Linked to Smoking, Other Modifiable Risks
Risk factors identified included smoking cigarettes, secondhand smoke, excess body weight, alcohol consumption, and consumption of red and processed meat.
Modifiable risk factors such as smoking were linked to about 40 percent of U.S. adult cancer cases in 2019, according to a recent study led by the American Cancer Society.
The study, published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, assessed cancer cases and deaths among U.S. adults 30 or older in 2019. The researchers estimated the numbers of cases and deaths related to modifiable risk factors for 30 types of cancers.
Risk factors identified included smoking cigarettes, secondhand smoke, excess body weight, alcohol consumption, consumption of red and processed meat, low fruit and vegetable consumption, ultraviolet radiation and infection with cancer-related viruses.
An estimated 40 percent of incident cancer cases and 44 percent of deaths were attributed to modifiable risk factors. Cigarette smoking was the leading risk factor, contributing to 19.3 percent of cancer cases and 28.5 percent of deaths. Excess body weight was also a major risk factor, contributing to 7.6 percent of cancer cases. Other leading risk factors for cancer cases included alcohol consumption (5.4 percent), UV radiation exposure (4.6 percent) and physical inactivity (3.1 percent).
