Cancer ISN'T in your genes: Nine out of 10 cancers are caused by lifestyle NOT bad genes

The vast majority of cancers are caused by environmental factors research suggests

 

NINE in 10 cancers are caused by unhealthy lives rather than bad genes, new evidence shows.

 

Scientists say factors in the modern world such as bad diet, smoking cigarettes, sunlight, and disease, play a far bigger role than random DNA mutations in causing cancer.

Researchers went on to say that as many as 90 per cent of cases would be wiped out if we could “magic away” all external factors.

This contradicts a study published in January which found that 65 per cent of cancers were inevitable and caused by random mistakes in cell division.

 

Bad diet is a major factor in causing cancer

Dr Yusuf Hannun, of Stony Brook University in the US, said that while luck and genetics plays a role, factors in the world around us are much more important.

These results demonstrate that a large proportion of cancer is caused by environmental factors

Dr Jian-Min Yuan, of the University of Pittsburgh

 

Writing in the journal Nature, he said that the genes we inherit from our parents only account for a very small number of cancer cases.

He said: “These results are important for forming strategies for cancer prevention, research and public health.”

Experts said he had built a “compelling case” for his argument.

Professor Kevin McConway, of the Open University, said: “The author’s aim is to calculate what percentage of cancers would not arise, if we could wave a magic wand and get rid of all possible external risk factors. There would still be cancers, because of the way that cells divide in the body. But there would be fewer of them.”

 

Smoking tobacco leads to lung, throat and mouth cancer

  

 

Ultraviolet rays from the sun can damage skin cells

Dr Jian-Min Yuan, of the University of Pittsburgh in the US, said: “These results demonstrate that a large proportion of cancer is caused by environmental factors and are preventable if their underlying causes are identified.”

A spokesman for Cancer Research UK, said: “Healthy habits like not smoking, keeping a healthy weight, a healthy diet and cutting back on alcohol are not a guarantee against cancer, but they do dramatically reduce the risk of developing the disease.”