Identifying novel causes of cancers to enhance cancer prevention: new strategies are needed

Researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the University of Bristol (United Kingdom) state that new research strategies and infrastructures are needed to prevent the projected increase in the number of new cases of cancer diagnosed per year. Current estimates predict a doubling of the global cancer burden over the next 50 years. The researchers’ views appear in a Commentary published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The cancer burden is increasing in all parts of the world, and this increase is expected to continue, with the greatest proportional increase expected to occur in low- and middle-income countries as their economies undergo transitions. Cancer prevention will become increasingly important as governments and societies try to tackle this burden.

Evidence from epidemiological and laboratory studies conducted in high-income countries has led to the conclusion that about 40% of the cancer burden can be explained by known risk factors. However, international cancer statistics indicate that about 80% of the cancer burden in high-income countries is potentially preventable. This would imply that important risk factors for cancer remain to be discovered.

The authors conclude that new research strategies and infrastructures that combine population-based and laboratory research at a global level are required to identify these novel risk factors.

Brennan P, Davey Smith G.
Identifying novel causes of cancers to enhance cancer prevention: new strategies are needed
J Natl Cancer Inst, Published online 8 November 2021;
https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djab204

Read the Commentary