July 11 (UPI) -- Lifestyle choices such as smoking, drinking and other avoidable factors are responsible for 40% of cancers and about half of all U.S. cancer deaths in adults over age 30, new research published Thursday suggests.
A new study led by a team at the American Cancer Society found that 713,340 cancer cases and 262,120 cancer deaths in 2019 were caused by modifiable risk factors, including cigarette smoking, excess body weight, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, diet and infections, the organization said in a news release.
Cigarette smoking was by far the leading risk factor, contributing to nearly 20% of all cancer cases and 30% of all cancer deaths, according to the study, which appears in the ACS's flagship journal, CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
"Despite considerable declines in smoking prevalence during the past few decades, the number of lung cancer deaths attributable to cigarette smoking in the United States is alarming," said lead author Dr. Farhad Islami, ACS senior scientific director for cancer disparity research.
"This finding underscores the importance of implementing comprehensive tobacco control policies in each state to promote smoking cessation, as well as heightened efforts to increase screening for early detection of lung cancer, when treatment could be more effective," Islami said.