Cancer causes and prevention

Professor Bernard Stewart from the University of UNSW, has just published an article in Lancet Oncology, Priorities for cancer prevention: lifestyle choices versus unavoidable exposures.  Stewart argues that although cancer prevention in developed countries focuses on disease attributable to lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol intake, sun exposure, and obesity, cancer caused by involuntary exposures is a concern to people.  The general community is said to be vulnerable to carcinogens encountered in pollution, contaminated food, and consumer products so assessments of the carcinogenicity of particular chemicals are of little assistance in prevention of cancer. Appraisal of cancer attributable to widespread and localised pollution, pesticides, endocrine disrupting chemicals, and consumer products yields diverse outcomes and anxiety concerning insidious cancer causation could divert attention from proven means of cancer prevention.

Professor Stewart was interviewed on the Health Report on ABC's Radio National recently about his concerns.  Listen to the podcast or read the transcript here.  The article is in The Lancet Oncology, Volume 13, Issue 3, Pages e126 - e133, March 2012  doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(11)70221-2.  Contact your library for the full text of the article.