Editing Cancer research (section)

=== Prevention and epidemiology ===

Epidemiologic analysis indicates that at least 35% of all cancer deaths in the world could now be avoided by primary prevention.<ref name="Song2018">{{cite journal |vauthors=Song M, Vogelstein B, Giovannucci EL, Willett WC, Tomasetti C |title=Cancer prevention: Molecular and epidemiologic consensus |journal=Science |volume=361 |issue=6409 |pages=1317–8 |date=September 2018 |pmid=30262488 |pmc=6260589 |doi=10.1126/science.aau3830 |bibcode=2018Sci...361.1317S }}</ref> According to a newer [[Global Burden of Disease Study|GBD]] [[Systematic review|systematic analysis]], in 2019, ~44% of all cancer deaths — or ~4.5&nbsp;million deaths or ~105&nbsp;million lost [[disability-adjusted life year]]s — were [[List of causes of death by rate#Underlying causes|due to known clearly preventable risk factors]]<!--(causal-contributing factors)-->, led by smoking, [[Health effects of alcohol|alcohol use]] and [[obesity|high BMI]].<ref name="10.1016/S0140-6736(22)01438-6">{{cite journal |last1=Tran |first1=Khanh Bao |last2=Lang |first2=Justin J. |last3=Compton |first3=Kelly |last4=Xu |first4=Rixing |last5=Acheson |first5=Alistair R. |last6=Henrikson |first6=Hannah Jacqueline |last7=Kocarnik |first7=Jonathan M. |last8=Penberthy |first8=Louise |last9=Aali |first9=Amirali |last10=Abbas |first10=Qamar |display-authors=et al. |title=The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010–19: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 |journal=The Lancet |date=20 August 2022 |volume=400 |issue=10352 |pages=563–591 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(22)01438-6 |pmid=35988567 |pmc=9395583 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

However, one 2015 study suggested that between ~70% and ~90% of cancers are due to environmental factors and therefore potentially preventable.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Wu S, Powers S, Zhu W, Hannun YA |title=Substantial contribution of extrinsic risk factors to cancer development |journal=Nature |volume=529 |issue=7584 |pages=43–7 |date=January 2016 |pmid=26675728 |pmc=4836858 |doi=10.1038/nature16166|bibcode=2016Natur.529...43W }}</ref>{{contradictory inline|date=February 2023}} Furthermore, it is estimated that with further research cancer death rates could be reduced by 70% around the world even without the development of any new therapies.<ref name = Song2018/> Cancer prevention research receives only 2–9% of global cancer research funding,<ref name = Song2018/> albeit many of the options for prevention are already well-known without further cancer-specific research but are not reflected in economics and policy. [[Mutational signatures]] of various cancers, for example, could reveal further causes of cancer and support causal attribution.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Degasperi |first1=Andrea |last2=Zou |first2=Xueqing |last3=Dias Amarante |first3=Tauanne |last4=Martinez-Martinez |first4=Andrea |display-authors=et al. |title=Substitution mutational signatures in whole-genome–sequenced cancers in the UK population |journal=Science |date=22 April 2022 |volume=376 |issue=6591 |pages=abl9283 |doi=10.1126/science.abl9283 |pmid=35949260 |pmc=7613262 |s2cid=248334490 }}
* University press release: {{cite news |title=Largest study of whole genome sequencing data reveals 'treasure trove' of clues about causes of cancer |url=https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-04-largest-genome-sequencing-reveals-treasure.html |access-date=15 May 2022 |work=University of Cambridge |language=en}}</ref>{{additional citation needed|date=February 2023}}