Breastfeeding each child for

less than 6 months

Tobacco
Occu-
pation
Low
fruit &
veg diet
Radi-
ation
Tob-
acco
Red meat
Over-
weight
Low
fibre
diet
Alcohol
Inactivity
Infections
Radiation
Radiation
Occupation
Over-
Radiation
Occupation
Tobacco
Tob-
acco
Tob-
acco
Overweight
Over-
weight
Inactivity
HRT
Radiation
Occupation
Low
fruit &
veg diet
Infec-
tions
Salt
Tob-
acco
Occupation
Tobacco
HRT
Radiation
Alcohol
Infections
Tobacco
T
obacco
O
ccupation
Sunlight
& sunbeds
Occup.
Radiation
Infections
Infections
Occupation
Infections
Overweight
Penile cancer
Kaposi sarcoma
Vaginal cancer
Nasopharynx cancer
Sino-nasal cancer
Soft tissue sarcoma
Eye cancer
Occupation
Radiation
Occupation
Tobacco
Tobacco
Low fruit & veg diet
Alcohol
Infections
Occupation
Low fruit & veg diet
Alcohol
Infections
Occupation
Over-
weight
Alcohol
Inactivity
Radiation Occu-
pation
HRT
Not
breast
feeding
Occup-
ation
Infection
weight
Tob-
acco
Over-
weight
Low
fruit &
veg diet
Tob-
acco
Infec-
tions
Occu-
pation
Not breastfeeding
Alcohol
Scale
200 cancers
Number
of cancers
of this type
caused by
each risk*
* Note that one
persons cancer can have
more than one
cause


Risk
Factor
Risk
Factor
Key
Salt
HRT
Not
breast-
feeding
In-
activity
Low
fibre
diet
Radi-
ation
Red meat
Infections
Occupation
Alcohol
Sunlight
& sunbeds
Low
fruit &
veg diet
Over-
weight
Tobacco
Smoking or chewing any form of tobacco, or
exposure to environmental tobacco smoke
Having a BMI of 25 kg/m
2
or over
Being exposed to cancer-causing
chemicals or conditions at work
Getting more UV
than was typical for
people born in 1903
Exposure to cancer-causing
infections like HPV and
Hepatitis B or C
Eating any red or
processed meat
Being exposed to any ionising
radiation, including background
levels such as those released
from the earth
Having less than 23 grams
of fibre a day
Having at least 6 grams a day
Taking any type of Hormone
Replacement Therapy
Drinking any type
of alcohol
Getting fewer than five
portions a day
All cancers
How many cancers
can be prevented?
Although there are some things we cant control about our cancer risk, decades of research
have clearly shown that by living a healthy life, people can reduce the risk of developing the
disease. But how many cancers in the UK are really caused by things we can change?
This diagram shows the results of new research funded by Cancer Research UK, which aims to
show the number of cancer cases in the UK that could be prevented by known lifestyle and
environmental factors, like being a non-smoker, keeping a healthy weight, drinking less alcohol,
eating a healthy, balanced diet, and avoiding being exposed to certain infections or radiation.
The thin lines show the total number of cancers of
each type from the latest UK incidence figures, and
the large bars in the centre of each line show the
proportion of these cases that could be prevented in
men and women. Around the outside, youll see the
lifestyle and environmental factors that are
linked to each cancer type. On the left is
the contribution of each lifestyle
factor to cancer overall.
Being moderately active for less
than 150 minutes a week
N
o
n
-h
o
d
g
k
in

ly
m
p
h
o
m
a
Cancer o
f
u
n
k
n
o
w
n

p
r
i
m
a
r
y
O
t
h
e
r

r
a
r
e

c
a
n
c
e
r
s
G
a
l
l
b
l
a
d
d
e
r

c
a
n
c
e
r
V
u
l
v
a
l

c
a
n
c
e
r
H
o
d
g
k
i
n

L
y
m
p
h
o
m
a
T
e
s
t
i
c
u
l
a
r

c
a
n
c
e
r
T
h
y
r
o
i
d

c
a
n
c
e
r
B
o
n
e

&

c
o
n
n
e
c
t
i
v
e

t
i
s
s
u
e
L
a
r
y
n
g
e
a
l

c
a
n
c
e
r
M
e
s
o
t
h
e
l
i
o
m
a
C
e
r
v
i
c
a
l

c
a
n
c
e
r
L
i
v
e
r

c
a
n
c
e
r
M
y
e
l
o
m
a
O
r
a
l

c
a
n
c
e
r
s
M
a
lig
n
a
n
t

m
e
la
n
o
m
a
B
la
d
d
e
r

c
a
n
c
e
r
B
rain
&
C
N
S
t
u
m
o
u
r
s
Kidne
y c
a
n
c
e
r
Oesophageal cancer
Womb cancer
L
e
u
k
a
e
m
ia
S
to
m
a
c
h

c
a
n
c
e
r
O
v
a
r
ia
n

c
a
n
c
e
r
Pancreatic cancer
Bre
a
s
t

c
a
n
c
e
r
L
u
n
g

c
a
n
c
e
r
B
o
w
e
l

c
a
n
c
e
r
Prosta
t
e

c
a
n
c
e
r
No evidence yet of any p
re
v
e
n
ta
b
le
c
a
s
e
s
Female
Male
Preventable
cancers
All cancers of this type
December 2011