Cancer Prevention: 4 in 10 Cases Are Preventable, Study Finds | Tobacco, Alcohol & Infections Key Risks

Nearly four in ten cancer cases globally could be preventable, according to a new analysis released today, February 3, 2026, by the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The research, utilizing data from 2022, estimates this translates to over seven million cases annually.

The findings, published in the journal Nature, examined cancer incidence and mortality data from 185 countries, encompassing 36 different cancer types and 30 modifiable risk factors. Researchers identified a range of preventable causes, including cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, excess body weight, physical inactivity, the use of smokeless tobacco and areca nut, suboptimal breastfeeding, air pollution, ultraviolet radiation exposure, occupational exposure to 13 carcinogenic agents, and, for the first time, the impact of nine infections known to cause cancer.

30 Preventable Risk Factors

The WHO concludes that approximately 37 percent of all cancers recorded in 2022 – nearly 7.1 million cases – were associated with these preventable factors. The study’s authors emphasize the significant potential for intervention and prevention strategies to reduce the global cancer burden.

Cigarette smoking remains the leading preventable risk factor for cancer, accounting for an estimated 15 percent of all global cases. Infections are the second most significant contributor, linked to around 10 percent of cases, while alcohol consumption causes approximately 3 percent.

half of all preventable cancer instances are attributable to just three cancer types: lung, stomach, and cervical. Lung cancer is largely linked to smoking, stomach cancer to infection with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, and cervical cancer, in the vast majority of cases, to infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV).

Regional and Gender Differences

Significant variations were observed in the proportion of preventable cancer cases based on gender and geographic location. Globally, preventable cancers accounted for 45.4 percent of cases in men, compared to 29.7 percent in women.

Among men, smoking was the primary preventable cause, estimated to be behind 23 percent of all new cancer cases, followed by infections (9 percent) and alcohol consumption (4 percent). In women, infections were the leading cause (11 percent), followed by smoking (6 percent) and high body mass index (3 percent).

Five regions – Southern Europe, South-Central Asia, North Africa and Western Asia, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe – showed preventable cancer cases representing more than four in ten. Four regions – Northern Europe, Oceania, North America, and Western Europe – had rates between three and four in ten, while two regions – Latin America and the Caribbean, and Sub-Saharan Africa – had fewer than three in ten preventable cancer cases.

“This represents the first global analysis that shows the proportion of cancers that are attributable to preventable causes,” said André Ilbawi, Head of the Cancer Control team at the WHO and one of the study’s authors. “By analyzing patterns across countries and population groups, we can provide governments and individuals with more specific information that can help prevent many cancers before they start.”

“This study represents a comprehensive assessment of preventable cancer globally, incorporating infectious causes for the first time alongside behavioral, environmental and occupational risks,” added Isabelle Soerjomataram, Head of the Cancer Surveillance Unit at the IARC and lead author of the research. “Acting on these preventable causes represents one of the most powerful opportunities to reduce the global cancer burden.”

The WHO stresses that these findings underscore the need for targeted prevention strategies tailored to specific contexts, including robust tobacco control measures, alcohol regulation, and vaccination campaigns against HPV and hepatitis B, as well as improvements in air quality, workplace safety, healthier diets, and increased physical activity.

References

Hanna Fink, Oliver Landselius, Jérôme Vignat, Harriet Rumgay, Jürgen Rehm, Ricardo X. Martinez, Marilina Santero, Lucero Lopez-Perez, Manami Inoue, Hongmei Zeng, Kevin Shield, Eileen Morgan, André Ilbawi & Isabelle Soerjomataram. Global and regional cancer burden attributable to modifiable risk factors to inform prevention. Nature (2026). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-026-04219-7

WHO (2026). Four in ten cancer cases could be prevented globally. Accessed online at https://www.who.int/news/item/03-02-2026-four-in-ten-cancer-cases-could-be-prevented-globally on February 3, 2026.