(Wednesday, 9 may HealthDay News) - one in six cancers in the world is caused by infections preventable or curable, a new study finds.
Infections cause approximately 2 million cases of cancer, a year and 80% of these cases occur in the less developed regions of the world, according to the study, published online may 8 in The Lancet Oncology. The death by cancer of 7.5 million worldwide in 2008, approximately $ 1.5 million were due to potentially preventable or curable infections.
"Infection with certain viruses, bacteria and parasites is one of the largest and most preventable cause of cancer in the world," authors Catherine of Martel and Martyn Plummer, principal of the International Agency for research on Cancer in Lyon, France, said in a press release of the journal. "Application of present methods of public health for the prevention of infections, such as vaccination, practical safe injection of antimicrobial treatment - could have a substantial effect on the future burden of cancer throughout the world."
Researchers examined data on 27 cancers in 184 countries and has calculated that about 16% of all cancers in 2008 have been linked to infection. Cancers related to the infection rate was 23% in the developing countries and 7% in developed countries.
Rates of infection-related cancers varies from 3% in Australia and New Zealand to 33 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa.
"Many cancers related to the infection is preventable, particularly those associated with the virus of human papillomavirus (HPV), Helicobacter pylori and hepatitis b and hepatitis c virus," said researchers.
In 2008, these four major infections caused together 1.9 million cancers, mainly of the stomach, the liver and the cervix. Cervical cancer is about half of cancers related to the infection in women and hepatic and gastric cancer accounted for more than 80 per cent of cancers related to the infection in men.
The results of the study "show the potential of preventive and therapeutic programs in less developed countries to significantly reduce the global burden of cancer and the wide disparities between regions and countries," Danaei Gudarz, of the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, wrote in an accompanying editorial.
"Since effective vaccines and relatively inexpensive for HPV and [B] are available, increasing the coverage should be a priority for health systems in high-burden countries," Danaei added.
More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute offers an overview of cancer prevention.
SOURCE: Lancet Oncology, press release, may 8, 2012
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