New study shows cancer prevention of AICR/WCRF

WASHINGTON, DC, July 5, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A new study led by a team from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), carried out in cooperation with the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and American Institute for Research on Cancer (AICR) and published in Current developments in nutrition, studied health behavior and mortality risk in a cohort of over 175,000 older (50-71 years at recruitment) Americans. They found that following a lifestyle aligned with the 2018 WCRF/AICR cancer prevention recommendations was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of all-cause cancer and cardiovascular mortality.

And the changes in risk have been significant. That 2018 WCRF/AICR result is a standardized seven-point rating system based on 10 evidence-based points Cancer prevention recommendations published by WCRF/AICR in 2018, focused on modifiable lifestyle factors such as weight, physical activity, dietary factors and alcohol consumption. This study found that every one point increase in the 2018 WCRF/AICR score was associated with a 9-26% reduced risk of mortality, excluding cancer mortality risk in current male smokers; The strongest associations were observed in ex-smokers.

When comparing people with high and low scores, older adults with 5-7 scores were 43-62% less likely to die from all causes than people with 0-2 scores. The results differed according to gender and smoking status, with the strongest associations again being in ex-smokers. The results were similar for cancer and cardiovascular mortality. Associations with cancer and CVD-specific mortality were not significant in current male smokers, although this may have been influenced by the relatively small sample of current smokers in the study; It also supports that smoking is still an important modifiable risk factor when it comes to mortality risk.

Marissa Shams-White, senior researcher and program director in the National Cancer Institute’s Division of Risk Assessment, said: “Overall, these…