'One in six cancers worldwide are caused by infection'

[Northerner]

One in six cancers - two million a year globally - are caused by largely treatable or preventable infections, new estimates suggest.

The Lancet Infectious Diseases review, which looked at incidence rates for 27 cancers in 184 countries, found four main infections are responsible.

These four - human papillomaviruses, Helicobacter pylori and hepatitis B and C viruses - account for 1.9m cases of cervical, gut and liver cancers.

Most cases are in the developing world.

The team from the International Agency for Research on Cancer in France says more efforts are needed to tackle these avoidable cases and recognise cancer as a communicable disease.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17989371

 

[Medusa]

interesting isn't it how when more research is done this is found out, maybe the best bet would be not to look for a cure for cancer itself but to prevent all the things that cause it whether it be a virus or a certain lifestyle choice (ie smoking)