The most common cause of cancer is ...

An American study has released information on the most common cause of cancer (Sydney Morning Herald, January 3-4, 2015).

Researchers from John Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in the School of Medicine looked into why some people can smoke and drink excessively and remain cancer free while others with healthier lifestyles received a cancer diagnosis. Was “just good genes” the reason why some people remained cancer free?

Their study revealed that “all cancers are causes by a combination of bad luck, the environment, and hereditary.” The researchers created a model to help quantify the impact of each of these factors on cancer development. The study involved comparing stem cell divisions in 31 cancer types and determining which ones were driven by the “bad luck” factor of random DNA mutations and which cell divisions had a higher incidence due to a combination of factors.

The result was that bad luck was responsible for 67% of adult cancer while the remaining cases were due to environmental risk factors and inherited genes. Hence bad luck plays a significant role in determining whether a person is diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime, according to researchers.

Dr. Bert Vogelstein of John Hopkins University said the findings should not be an excuse to be complacent about cancer. “This study shows that you can add to your risk of getting cancers by smoking or other poor lifestyle factors” so people should still opt for a healthier lifestyle to reduce their risk.