Alejandro Pérez Fidalgo

In 2022, approximately four out of every 10 new cancer cases worldwide were due to modifiable risk factors, primarily tobacco or alcohol consumption and infections, including those caused by the human papillomavirus or H. pylori bacteria. These are some of the conclusions of a global study led by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and its International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), published in Nature Medicine. In Spain, 41.8% of cancer cases in men are attributed to modifiable external factors, compared to 26.1% in women, with smoking remaining the main factor (28.5% and 9.9%, respectively). The analysis is based on data from 185 countries.

Between 2003 and 2017, the incidence of six types of cancer—thyroid, breast, colorectal, kidney, endometrial, and leukaemia—increased in young adults in three-quarters of 42 countries included in a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine. For all of these types of cancer, except colorectal, diagnoses also increased in adults over the age of 50. The study analyses data on 13 types of cancer and notes that those with increasing incidence include some of the most obesity-related cancers, such as endometrial and kidney cancer.

Several studies have linked endometriosis to an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer. New research conducted in the United States on nearly half a million women has confirmed this association. Although the absolute risk remains low, the overall likelihood is four times higher than in the general population. However, the risk is higher when the endometriosis is of the infiltrative type or when an endometrioma develops in the ovary. The authors, who publish their results in the journal JAMA, raise the possibility of screening these women, because "precision medicine is more than just genetics".

Talc has been classified as "probably carcinogenic to humans" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an agency of the World Health Organisation. In a statement, IARC reports that, after thoroughly reviewing the available scientific literature, the expert working group classified talc as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A) "based on a combination of limited evidence of cancer in humans (for ovarian cancer), sufficient evidence of cancer in experimental animals, and strong mechanistic evidence that talc exhibits key features of carcinogens in human primary cells and experimental systems". In the same monograph, the agency classified acrylonitrile as "carcinogenic to humans" (Group 1). It is a chemical used in the manufacture of fibres for textiles, synthetic rubber and plastics. Both assessments are published in an article in The Lancet Oncology.

Since 1990, the incidence and deaths from early-onset cancers in teenagers and young adults have substantially increased worldwide. These are the main findings of a study published today in the BMJ Oncology journal.

A Canadian study has examined whether there is a link between occupation and risk of ovarian cancer. After analysing data from nearly 500 women diagnosed with the disease and nearly 900 controls, they found that working for more than ten years in professions such as hairdressing or beauticians triples the risk of ovarian cancer. The risk also increases in occupations such as accountants or those related to the textile industry. The results are published in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine.