Infections causing cancers: world burden and potential for prevention

Publication date: September 2014 Source:Public Health Forum, Volume 22, Issue 3 Author(s): Catherine de Martel , Martyn Plummer , Silvia Franceschi Infections with viruses, bacteria, and parasites have long been identified as strong risk factors for specific cancers (Table 1) (IARC, 2012). Worldwide, about 2.1 million of the total of 12.7 million cancer cases that occurred in 2008 (16.5% of all cases) are attributable to infections (de Martel et al., 2012). This fraction varies 10-fold by region; it is lowest in North America, Australia, and New Zealand (≤ 5%) and highest in sub-Saharan Africa (>30%) (Figure 1). Helicobacter pylori, hepatitis B and C viruses, and human papillomaviruses are responsible for 1.9 million cancer cases globally, mainly encompassing gastric, liver, and cervical cancer, respectively.
Source: Public Health Forum - Category: Global & Universal Source Type: research