No cancer is 100% preventable. However, nearly 50% of cancer deaths worldwide are caused by preventable risk factors, such as smoking and drinking alcohol. Managing certain controllable risk factors – such as your diet, physical activity and other lifestyle choices – can lower your chances of developing cancer.
Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020, or nearly one in six deaths. The most common cancers are breast, lung, colon and rectum and prostate cancers. Around one-third of deaths from cancer are due to tobacco use, high body mass index, alcohol consumption, low fruit and vegetable intake, and lack of physical activity. Cancer-causing infections, such as human papillomavirus and hepatitis, are responsible for approximately 30% of cancer cases in low- and lower-middle-income countries. Many cancers can be cured if detected early and treated effectively.
Cancer is a generic term for a large group of diseases that can affect any part of the body. The incidence of cancer rises dramatically with age, most likely due to a build-up of risks for specific cancers that increase with age. The overall risk accumulation is combined with the tendency for cellular repair mechanisms to be less effective as a person grows older.
Consumption of Red Meat
Heavy consumption of red meat is a risk factor for several cancers, especially for those of the gastrointestinal tract, but also for colorectal, prostate, bladder, breast, gastric, pancreatic, and oral cancers. Such consumption is commonly regarded as a risk for cancer for the following reasons. The heterocyclic amines produced during the cooking of meat are carcinogens. Charcoal cooking and/or smoke curing of meat produces harmful carbon compounds such as pyrolysates and amino acids, which have a strong cancerous effect. For instance, PhIP (2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenyl-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine) is the most abundant mutagen by mass in cooked beef and is responsible for ~20% of the total mutagenicity found in fried beef. PhIP is one of the most abundant heterocyclic amines in cooked meat. PhIP is formed at high temperatures from the reaction between creatine or creatinine (found in muscle meats), amino acids, and sugar.
Nitrites and nitrates are used in meat because they bind to myoglobin, inhibiting botulinum exotoxin production; however, they are powerful carcinogens. Long-term exposure to food additives such as nitrite preservatives and azo dyes has been associated with the induction of carcinogenesis. Saturated fatty acids have also been associated with various cancers.
Prevention of Breast Cancer
Substantial support for breast cancer awareness and research funding has helped create advances in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Breast cancer survival rates have increased, and the number of deaths associated with this disease is steadily declining, largely due to factors such as earlier detection, a new personalized approach to treatment and a better understanding of the disease.
Behavioral choices and related interventions that reduce the risk of breast cancer include prolonged breastfeeding, regular physical activity, adhering to a healthy diet, weight control, avoidance of alcohol, avoidance of exposure to tobacco smoke, avoidance of prolonged use of hormones, and avoidance of excessive radiation exposure.
Prevention of Colorectal Cancer
Get screened starting at age 45 (or before if you have other risk factors), seek genetic counseling if you have a strong family history, maintain a healthy weight, stay physically active, avoid alcohol consumption, limit consumption of red meat/processed meat, and smoke.
Maintain a healthy diet. Medical experts often recommend a diet low in animal fats and high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to reduce the risk of other chronic diseases, such as coronary artery disease and diabetes. This diet also may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.
Prevention of Lung Cancer
Do not use tobacco, avoid secondhand smoke. Avoid unprotected work with the following arsenic, asbestos, radon, radiation, and radioactive dust. Exercise most days of the week.
Eat a diet full of fruits and vegetables. Choose a healthy diet with a variety of fruits and vegetables. Food sources of vitamins and nutrients are best.
Avoid taking large doses of vitamins in pill form, as they may be harmful. For instance, researchers hoping to reduce the risk of lung cancer in heavy smokers gave them beta carotene supplements. Based on solid evidence, high-intensity smokers who take pharmacological doses of beta-carotene have an increased lung cancer incidence and mortality that is associated with taking the supplement. Based on solid evidence, taking vitamin E supplements does not affect the risk of lung cancer.
Prevention of Head and Neck Cancer
Do not use tobacco, tobacco use includes smoking cigarettes, cigars, or pipes; chewing tobacco; and using snuff. It is the single largest risk factor for head and neck cancer.
Get the HPV vaccine, avoid alcohol consumption, wear a protective face mask when there is potential occupational exposure and practice safe sex. Use lip balm that contains sunscreen, wear a wide-brimmed hat when outdoors, and avoid tanning. Visit the dentist regularly.
Prevention of Prostate Cancer
Adhere to a healthy diet, maintain a healthy weight, stay physically active, do not smoke, schedule an annual physical exam with your primary care physician to discuss your risk.
Increase Your Vitamin D. It can help protect against prostate cancer and many other conditions. Vitamin D-rich foods include cod liver oil, wild salmon, and mushrooms. Since the sun is a better, more readily available source of vitamin D, many experts recommend getting 10 minutes of sun exposure (without sunscreen) every day.
Prevention of Skin Cancer
Avoid sunburns in childhood, keep newborns out of the sun, avoid indoor tanning booths and beds, cover your skin with long sleeves, broad-brimmed hats, and scarves, examine your skin head-to-toe every month, see your physician every year, or as recommended, for a professional skin exam, stay in the shade during peak sun hours (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and wear UV-blocking sunglasses.
Lycopene helps protect against sun damage and may also help protect your skin against sun damage. Several reports have linked lycopene to a lower risk of various cancers. This red-pigmented antioxidant is in tomatoes, watermelon, guava, papaya, apricots, pink grapefruit, blood oranges and other foods.
Diets high in beta carotene-rich fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of some cancers. Beta carotene also boosts the immune system’s ability to fight disease. Beta carotene is present in orange-colored vegetables and fruits, including carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, apricots, and mangoes.
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