Is Cancer Preventable?
Exploring the link between inflammation and the agents that cause cancer: 30-50% of cancer cases are preventable, and intervention of lifestyle is required.
Studies have shown that at least one in three cases of cancer are considered to be preventable, indicating the immense need for an intervention in Britain’s lifestyle habits. In this week's article, we explore the various lifestyle factors that contribute to a cancer diagnosis as well as explore the link between inflammation and the agents that cause cancer.
Critical lifestyle factors that contribute to the mortality and incidence of cancer include smoking tobacco, excessive alcohol consumption, an unhealthy diet (carcinogenic foods mainly refer to processed food and excessive red meat intake), obesity, physical inactivity, infectious agents, and exposure to UV radiation and environmental pollutants.
How is Chronic Inflammation Related to Cancer?
The aforementioned critical lifestyle factors often lead to a risk of chronic inflammation; Many studies have provided clear evidence that chronic inflammation has been found to mediate tumorigenesis (the production or formation of a tumour or tumours).
Inflammatory markers (molecules that detect inflammation levels) such as specific types of cytokines, enzymes, and adhesion molecules (cell surface proteins that mediate the interaction between cells, or between cells and the extracellular matrix) have been closely associated with various steps involved in tumorigenesis.
The aforementioned inflammatory gene products are regulated by the nuclear transcription factor,
NF-κB.
NF-κB has been shown to control the expression of other gene products linked with tumorigeneses such as tumour cell survival or antiapoptosis, proliferation, invasion, and angiogenesis (vascular endothelial growth factor).
In many cancers, chronic inflammation precedes tumorigenesis.
In conclusion:
Studies have shown that it is clear that critical lifestyle factors greatly impact the risk of a cancer diagnosis and that chronic inflammation has been shown to mediate tumorigenesis.
For more information:
Choi JW, Hua TNM. Impact of Lifestyle Behaviors on Cancer Risk and Prevention. J Lifestyle Med. 2021 Jan 31;11(1):1-7. doi: 10.15280/jlm.2021.11.1.1. PMID: 33763336; PMCID: PMC7957047.
Singh N, Baby D, Rajguru JP, Patil PB, Thakkannavar SS, Pujari VB. Inflammation and cancer. Ann Afr Med. 2019 Jul-Sep;18(3):121-126. doi: 10.4103/aam.aam_56_18. PMID: 31417011; PMCID: PMC6704802.
Anand P, Kunnumakkara AB, Sundaram C, Harikumar KB, Tharakan ST, Lai OS, Sung B, Aggarwal BB. Cancer is a preventable disease that requires major lifestyle changes. Pharm Res. 2008 Sep;25(9):2097-116. doi: 10.1007/s11095-008-9661-9. Epub 2008 Jul 15. Erratum in: Pharm Res. 2008 Sep;25(9):2200. Kunnumakara, Ajaikumar B [corrected to Kunnumakkara, Ajaikumar B]. PMID: 18626751; PMCID: PMC2515569.
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