Change can reduce risk, study shows
Doctor says 45 per cent of cancers in Alberta can be prevented
You likely know that smoking increases your risk of lung cancer. And you might be aware — or not — that drinking alcohol, living a couch- potato life and eating chips and burgers might drive up your chance of other cancer diagnoses, on top of strokes or heart attacks.
But for the first time, a comprehensive, quantitative Albertabased study shows almost half of cancers are preventable, linked to lifestyle and environmental factors.
“Before, we had sort of vague ideas, maybe 30, 40, 50 per cent of cancers might be associated,” said Christine Friedenreich, who led the study with fellow epidemiologist Darren Brenner with Alberta Health Services.
Their research determined 45 per cent, or 6,700 new cancer cases each year in Alberta, are linked to factors such as activity level, diet, smoking and alcohol intake.
“It’s an empowering message because I think people are very frightened by cancer, so this is something that they can do themselves to say, ‘ How can I control my risk of developing this disease?’ ” said Friedenreich, who studies cancer epidemiology and prevention with CancerControl Alberta, an AHS program.
“We’re not saying if you do all these things, you’re not going to get cancer, because cancer is a multi- factorial disease. This is just reducing your risk.”
The study estimates 810 cases of cancer in Alberta each year could be prevented if people adopted healthier eating habits. Another 673 cases could be prevented if people stayed at a healthy weight, and another 617 cases could be avoided if they consumed less alcohol.
Lifestyle and environmental changes are key, given 85 per cent of lung cancers are because of risk factors such as tobacco use, physical inactivity and exposure to radon. Fifty per cent of breast cancer cases are linked to being overweight or inactive and using hormone replacement therapy.
The new statistics will help create better prevention programs, said Dr. Laura McDougall, medical and scientific director of the Alberta Cancer Prevention Legacy Fund, which funded the study.
“These findings … really show the way in terms of where investments and where our efforts make the most sense,” McDougall said.
For instance, senior leaders at 50 Alberta businesses are studying how to focus efforts on keeping employees healthy: building a gym on site, for example; encouraging people to use the stairs instead of elevators; or training outdoor workers to wear long sleeves and sunscreen to reduce exposure to ultraviolet rays.
“It’s great news for all of us that about 45 per cent of cancers we know how to reduce,” McDougall said. “We don’t know how to reduce the other 55 per cent. The factors we can’t change — like age, the genes that we’ve inherited — are things we can’t do anything about.”
We’re not saying if you do all these things, you’re not going to get cancer, because cancer is a multifactorial disease. This is just reducing your risk.