Health Almost 40 percent of all cancer cases worldwide are preventable
Almost 40 percent of all cancer cases worldwide are due to preventable causes. This is the result of an analysis of global data on cancer cases and risk factors. In Switzerland, too, around one in three cases of cancer could be avoided.
03.02.2026, 17:00
SDA
According to the analysis, smoking, alcohol consumption and infections 2022 were the most common such causes. Globally, around 30 percent of all cancers in women are preventable, and a good 45 percent in men. Overall, the figure is around 38%, as reported by a group led by Isabelle Soerjomataram from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon in the journal Nature Medicine.
In Switzerland, around 29 percent of women and 37 percent of men are attributable to preventable factors. In this country, smoking alone is responsible for almost 13 percent of new cancer cases in women and 21 percent in men.
Alcohol, a high BMI, UV radiation and infections also play a role in Switzerland. Lack of exercise and air pollution, on the other hand, hardly play a role.
