Around one third of cancers in Australia are caused by modifiable risk factors.
Cancer Council Australia has published the first ever comprehensive estimate of cancer incidence in Australia by modifiable risk factors – that is, the number of annual cancer cases attributable to known risk factors that can be controlled.
Published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health in October 2015, the study estimated that, in 2010 a total of 32% of all cancers diagnosed in Australia (37,000 of 117,000) were attributable to 13 factors.
Of those 13 risk factors, smoking, UV radiation, body weight, poor diet and alcohol were attributable for around 90% of preventable cancers.
The full series of articles, plus a summary and conclusions, are accessible free of charge.
For recommendations on cancer prevention in a public policy context, please view the cancer council National Cancer Prevention Policy.
Preventative health is for everyone – what should you be doing? Prevention is better than cure and starts at any age. Take a risk quiz
What the screening test results mean for you
Around 14,000 new cases of bowel cancer are diagnosed each year in Australia.
The chance of a woman up to age 85 developing breast cancer is one in eight.
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