Infections cause one in six of all cancers worldwide: IARC

Worldwide, 2 million (16.1%) of the total 12.7 million new cancer cases in 2008 are attributable to infections. This fraction is higher in less developed countries (22.9%) than in more developed countries (7.4%) and varies 10-fold by region from 3.3% in Australia and New Zealand to 32.7% in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a landmark study of infection-related cancers published today in The Lancet Oncology.
Global burden of cancers attributable to infections in 2008: a review and synthetic analysis.
C de Martel, J Ferlay, S Franceschi, J Vignat, F Bray, D Forman, M Plummer.
Lancet Oncology, Published online May 9, 2012
DOI:10.1016/S1470-2045(12)70137-7
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