Cancer causes revealed: Seven factors which can increase your risk

12:08   12 August, 2017

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the UK - but experts warn four in ten cases of cancer can be prevented.

Cancer will affect hundreds of thousands of people in the UK directly and health experts estimate one in two people will be diagnosed with the disease at some stage in their life.

There are 200 different types of cancer - the disease can affect bones, organs, the skin, the breast, the brain the bowel the bladder, the mouth, the liver and even the blood - to name just a few.

Cancer is when abnormal cells - caused by gene changes within the cells - divide in an uncontrolled way.

Risk of developing cancer depends on a combination of genetics, environment and lifestyle factors - which people can monitor.

There are nine factors which can increase the risk of developing cancer.

These include:

Smoking

Smoking increases the risk of at least 14 cancers including lung cancer - one of England’s major killers and dramatically increases the risk of heart disease.

It can increase the risk of larynx cancer, oesophagus, mouth cancer, bladder cancer, pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, bowel, cervix and ovarian cancer, including some types of leukaemia. The number of smokers in the UK has called to its lowest level with only one in six people lighting up.

Cancer Research UK said achieving a tobacco-free UK by 2035 could avoid around 97,500 new cases of disease.

Obesity and weight

Being obese or overweight can increase the risk of breast cancer and bowel cancer.

Cancer Research UK said that after smoking, being obese is the second biggest cause of preventable cancer with one in twenty cancers linked to being overweight. Experts believe extra fat in the body can produce hormones and change the way cells work.

Alcohol

Alcohol has been linked to seven types of cancer, including breast cancer, mouth and bowel and liver cancer.

Cancer Research UK said: “The International Agency for Research into Cancer, which is part of the WHO, has classified alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen since 1988.”

Experts believe alcohol is responsible for around four per cent of UK cancers - about 12,800 cases a year.

Physical activity

Maintaining an active lifestyle can reduce the risk of the disease - experts believe around 3,400 cases of cancer in the uK each year could be prevented by keeping active.

Being active can help control hormone levels, keep the organs functioning properly and control level inflammation in the bowel.

Diet and healthy eating

Cancer Research UK said eating healthily could prevent one in ten cancers. Research has revealed increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables in diet can reduce risk - and eating foods high in fibre, and cutting red meat out of diet can reduce the risk of bowel cancer.

Experts suggest food high in salt can cause stomach cancer.

Sun and UV

Overexposure to UV light from the sun or sunbeds is the main cause of skin cancer. It can damage DNA and lead to skin cancer.

Infections and HPV

Infections including HPV can increase risk certain cancers, including anal cancer and cervical cancer.

HPV is a very common infection - but only certain types can increase risk.  Helibacter pylori us a type of bacteria which can increase the risk of stomach cancer.



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