Measures for cancer prevention

WHO names measures to reduce individual cancer risk

04/02/2014

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is one of the world's leading causes of death, with lung cancer (1.59 million deaths in 2012), liver cancer (745,000 deaths), stomach cancer (723,000 deaths), colon cancer (694,000 deaths), breast cancer (521,000 Deaths) and esophageal cancer (400,000 deaths) play a significant role. A total of 8.2 million deaths in 2012 according to the WHO World Cancer Report 2014 in the case of cancer in 2012. At the same time, the World Health Organization identifies a number of measures that anyone can take to prevent cancer.

Crucial to successful cancer prevention is according to the WHO „the knowledge about the causes of cancer and possible interventions.“ For example, more than 30 percent of cancer deaths could be prevented by avoiding major risk factors, the WHO reports. The main risk factors include smoking, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption, urban air pollution, sexually transmitted HPV infections, obesity and obesity. For example, tobacco use, the most important cancer risk factor, accounts for about 22 percent of global cancer deaths and about 71 percent of lung cancer deaths worldwide, WHO reports.

Avoid risk factors
The WHO's list of measures to improve cancer prevention covers only four issues: prevention of risk factors, vaccination against HPV (human papillomavirus) and hepatitis B, reduction of sun exposure, as well as control and shutdown of occupational risks. In many cases, however, individual prevention approaches are difficult to implement. For example, while it is relatively easy to reduce the amount of sunlight, effectively avoiding all risk factors is much more difficult to implement, especially if those concerned are in contact with them in the workplace. By avoiding the main risk factors (tobacco, alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity), the cancer risk is already significantly reduced, according to the WHO. Especially in low-income countries, infections with the hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HPV are responsible for up to 20 percent of cancer deaths, which is why WHO calls this vaccine a prevention strategy.

Improve early detection
According to the WHO, the number of cancer deaths could also be significantly reduced through improved early detection, since early diagnosis and treatment often leads to healing. In the field of early detection are not only the so-called screening programs offered, which are, for example, for early forms of cervical, intestinal and breast cancer is sought, but also the awareness of the individual for possible signs of cancer plays an essential role here. Because the earlier affected people correctly interpret the seemingly unspecific symptoms, the sooner they seek out a doctor and this can initiate a treatment. Here, therefore, the knowledge of possible cancer symptoms is quite crucial for the success of the treatment. (Fp)