One in six cancers caused by infection

A review in The Lancet Oncology has suggested that one in six cancers, which amounts to two million a year worldwide, are caused by largely treatable or preventable infections.

Researcher looked at incidence rates for 27 cancers in 184 countries and found that four main infections - human papillomaviruses, Helicobacter pylori and hepatitis B and C viruses - were responsible with most of the cases occurring in the developing world. The team from the International Agency for Research on Cancer in France says more efforts are needed to tackle these avoidable cases.

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