‘ A healthy weight and balanced diet are important’

by Cancer Research UK, show about 352,200 people had cancer diagnosed with cancer in the UK in 2013.

More than 253,000 people fell victim to the disease two decades before, meaning the number of cases has risen by almost 40 per cent.

The research applies to those born in the early 1960s and beyond. It means a child born today has a one- in- two chance of developing the disease at some point in their lives.

Latest figures show the disease claimed 8.2 million lives and was diagnosed in nearly 15 million new patients around the world in 2013.

Between 1990 and 2013 the proportion of deaths caused by cancer increased from 12 to 15 per cent.

Survival for lung, pancreatic and oesophageal cancer remain low, partly because the diseases are often diagnosed later when they are harder to treat.

Four- in- 10 cases of cancer could be prevented by simple lifestyle changes, such as giving up smoking.

About four- fifths of deaths from the disease are in people aged 65 and over and more than half in those aged 75 and older.

Professor Peter Johnson, Cancer Research UK’s chief clinician, said: “People often think cancer is down to their genes or just bad luck.

“Although genes do

play

a role there are still many things people can do to reduce their cancer risk.

“The most important is not to smoke. Most people know smoking causes lung cancer, but it’s also linked to at least 13 other types.

“We also know that maintaining a healthy body weight, exercising and eating a healthy balanced diet is important.

“There is no guarantee against cancer but there are things we can do to make us less likely to get it, and things that the Government can do to help us make the right choices and protect future generations.”

Last week, Cancer Research UK joined calls for a ban on junk food adverts on TV before the 9pm watershed.

Experts also want the Government to slap a tax on sugary drinks and enforce targets for reducing the amount of fat and sugar in food. The figures come a day after American scientists reported a breakthrough in cancer treatment.

A potentially revolutionary therapy that trains the immune system to attack cancer has shown “extraordinary” results in early trials involving terminally ill patients.

In one study, 94 per cent of participants with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia saw their symptoms vanish completely.