Many common cancers in the United States are linked to personal habits and lifestyle choices.
For example, spending too much time in the sun without protection increases the chance of getting skin cancer. Smoking cigarettes is one of the biggest causes of lung cancer.
But scientists have long wondered—how much of cancer is really preventable, and how much is just bad luck or part of getting older?
A new study from Yale University helps answer this question. Researchers looked at tumors from 24 different kinds of cancer. They searched for specific changes in the DNA of these tumors that are known to come from things like sunlight or tobacco smoke.
By doing this, they could figure out which cancers are more influenced by the environment and which ones happen mostly due to aging or natural genetic changes.
The results were clear. Some cancers, like skin cancer and bladder cancer, showed strong links to environmental factors. This means that people might lower their risk of getting these cancers by avoiding certain exposures, like UV rays or chemicals in tobacco.
Other cancers, like prostate cancer and brain tumors called gliomas, seemed to be mostly caused by internal body processes, such as aging or random DNA mistakes that happen over time.
This research could also help spot hidden dangers in the environment. For example, if a certain group of people—such as workers in a factory or people in a certain neighborhood—have high cancer rates, scientists could use this method to see if they are being exposed to cancer-causing chemicals.
Public health leaders could then step in to reduce those risks and protect people.
However, the study didn’t look at all types of genetic changes. Some complex DNA problems, like having extra copies of certain genes or whole chromosomes, weren’t included. More research is needed to learn how those changes may also lead to cancer.
Still, the study offers very helpful information. If we know which cancers are mostly caused by lifestyle and environment, then we can focus on preventing them. Health experts and government leaders can use this knowledge to warn people about risks, improve safety rules, and possibly save lives by stopping cancer before it starts.
This important study was led by Jeffrey Townsend and his team at Yale and was published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.
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