Avoid polluted environments
Cancers such as leukemia, lymphomas and childhood cancers, which had a poor prognosis in the past, now prove fatal in only 30 percent of cases. However, these only account for about 10 percent of all cancers. Progress has not been as impressive for the other 90 percent, though Trichopoulos asserts that understanding of the nature of cancer is considerably advanced. Cancer progress «It has become clear… that cancer is the result of genetic damage to somatic cells. Here we have to distinguish between somatic cells and reproductive cells – the ova and sperm. Damage to the latter is passed down by the parents to the children, and in this case we can speak of hereditary cancer.» These cancers account for only a very small percentage of cancers, about 5 percent of cases, he pointed out, and hereditary diseases that appear during or after the reproductive age are rare. By extension, 95 percent of cancers are not hereditary. «These cancers are caused by damage to the genetic material of somatic cells. Oncogenes and anti-oncogenes are bits of nucleic acid (the genes) which, when they mutate, either result in rapid, unstoppable cell growth, or lead to the cessation of the natural mechanism which makes pathological cells commit suicide. Anti-oncogene or tumor suppressor genes have the job of controlling rapid, unchecked cell growth.» Despite the occasional hopeful news, gene therapies have not achieved anything. To deal with cancer effectively, it is best to see what causes it, and then remove those factors. Smoking, accounting for 30 percent of cancers, is a major causative factor. Chemical factors include hydrocarbons, chromium, nickel and other substances. Twenty-five factors have been found that cause cancer, chiefly in the work environment. However, «life in a polluted environment can increase the danger of lung cancer by 50 percent, smoking, by 2,000 percent.» Certain viruses have also been implicated, such as those causing hepatitis B and C and human papilloma virus. Circumcision The sexually transmitted human papilloma virus is linked to 99 percent of cases of cervical cancer, 90 percent of penis cancer and a large percentage of anal cancer. But circumcision reduces the danger of men being the carriers of the virus. Men’s female partners benefit even more due to the greater incidence of cervical cancer. It is of particular relevance to developing countries, especially in Africa, where cervical cancer is much more common. Hepatitis B and C have been linked to liver cancer, so the existence of a vaccine for the former is very important. Generally speaking, viral causes of cancer depend on area. In Africa, where hepatitis B and C are common, they account for 15 percent of cases. In reference to Greece, though, Trichopoulos says, «Unfortunately, this is the only country in Europe which does not keep a record of cancers.» We do have some picture, however, because cancer kills, and deaths from cancer are recorded.
