Infections and viruses: causes of cancer
About 13% of all detected cancers in the world developed due to infections and viruses. These findings are contained in a new study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, published in the Lancet Global Health .
Researchers led by Dr. Catherine de Martel analyzed the GLOBOCAN 2018 database and identified 2.2 million diagnosed cancer cases that developed due to infectious diseases. This is 13% of all cancer diagnoses in the world made in 2018 (except for melanoma-related skin cancer). 780 thousand - every third case - were found in China.
Most cancers - 810 thousand diagnoses, mostly gastric adenocarcinoma - are caused by Helicobacter pylori infection. Cancer associated with the causative agent of this infection - the microorganism Helicobacter pylori, is most common in the Middle East, East Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, the researchers said.
In second place - the human papilloma virus (HPV), which caused 690 thousand diseases. 80% of these diagnoses are cervical cancer. The regions with a high risk of HPV-related cancer are East Asia and Africa.
Hepatitis B led to 360 thousand cases, and hepatitis C - up to 160 thousand cases of cancer, both mainly contribute to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma.
The incidence varies greatly in different regions of the world, researchers say. Most diagnoses were found in East Asia (37.9 cases per 100,000 person-years) and Africa (33.1), the least - in Northern Europe (13.6) and Western Asia (13.8). The relationship between the incidence of cancer caused by infection and the level of development of the country is most pronounced in the case of IDPs: from 6.9 cases per 100 thousand person-years in high-income countries to 16.1 - in poor countries.
Although cancer is generally considered a non-communicable disease, researchers conclude, programs are needed to fight infections, especially in countries and populations at high risk.
Read also: Not death, but second life!
Researchers led by Dr. Catherine de Martel analyzed the GLOBOCAN 2018 database and identified 2.2 million diagnosed cancer cases that developed due to infectious diseases. This is 13% of all cancer diagnoses in the world made in 2018 (except for melanoma-related skin cancer). 780 thousand - every third case - were found in China.
Most cancers - 810 thousand diagnoses, mostly gastric adenocarcinoma - are caused by Helicobacter pylori infection. Cancer associated with the causative agent of this infection - the microorganism Helicobacter pylori, is most common in the Middle East, East Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, the researchers said.
In second place - the human papilloma virus (HPV), which caused 690 thousand diseases. 80% of these diagnoses are cervical cancer. The regions with a high risk of HPV-related cancer are East Asia and Africa. Hepatitis B led to 360 thousand cases, and hepatitis C - up to 160 thousand cases of cancer, both mainly contribute to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma.
The incidence varies greatly in different regions of the world, researchers say. Most diagnoses were found in East Asia (37.9 cases per 100,000 person-years) and Africa (33.1), the least - in Northern Europe (13.6) and Western Asia (13.8). The relationship between the incidence of cancer caused by infection and the level of development of the country is most pronounced in the case of IDPs: from 6.9 cases per 100 thousand person-years in high-income countries to 16.1 - in poor countries.
Although cancer is generally considered a non-communicable disease, researchers conclude, programs are needed to fight infections, especially in countries and populations at high risk.
Read also: Not death, but second life!