An American Cancer Society report found 45 percent of U.S. cancer deaths expected this year could be attributed to avoidable risk factors.
The report, "Cancer Prevention & Early Detection: Facts & Figures 2023-2024," outlined the risk factors, preventable behaviors and access to care regarding cancer. The analysis found that smoking, alcohol use and physical inactivity went down from 2019 to 2021, but the prevalence of obesity went up and cervical cancer screenings went down in the same period.
Here are five other things to know:
- People without health insurance were 21 percent to 58 percent less likely to be current with a given cancer screening compared with people who have private health insurance.
- People with less than a high school education were four to five times more likely to smoke than people who earned a college degree.
- Among people ages 2 to 19, obesity prevalence increased from 5 percent in the early 1970s to 20 percent during the period from 2017 to 2020.
- In 2020, 27 percent of adults had a past-year sunburn, with the highest numbers in adults ages 18 to 24 years (40 percent). Inconsistent sun protective behaviors' prevalence was also highest (39 percent) in this age group.
- In 2021, 64 percent of girls and 60 percent of boys ages 13 to 17 years were up to date for the HPV vaccination series. The estimates ranged depending on the state, from 33 percent in Mississippi to 81 percent in Washington, D.C., among girls, and from 33 percent in Mississippi to 86 percent in Rhode Island among boys.