Have you always wondered what percent of cancers are triggered by bacteria and viruses? Me too. New study answers the question. ~ Ilene
PARIS – Largely preventable or treatable infections with viruses, bacteria and parasites cause about two million new cancer cases and 1.5 million cancer deaths each year, said a study published Wednesday.
This amounted to about one in six of the 12.7 million new cancer cases reported in 2008, said the report in The Lancet Oncology journal.
“Application of existing public health methods for infection prevention, such as vaccination, safer injection practice or antimicrobial treatments, could have a substantial effect on the future burden of cancer worldwide,” said the report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France.
Four infections, hepatitis B and C, human papillomavirus (HPV) and the Helicobacter pylori stomach bacteria, accounted for the bulk of the cases, some 1.9 million – mostly gastric, liver and cervical cancers.
