Smoke of cigarette, alcohol, overweight, lifestyle and viruses. These are just some of the modifiable risk factors that, if avoided, could lead to a sharp reduction in new cases of cancer, which, according to the data reported in volume «The numbers of cancer in Italy» every year in our country are about 390,000.
But how thoroughly do doctors and patients know the general rules of cancer prevention?And how effective are doctors’ messages in communicating these prevention rules to their patients?
«We know a lot about modifiable risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing cancer, but we are still not very effective when it comes to transmitting this information to our patients» explains Mattia Garutti, oncologist at the UOC of Medical Oncology and Oncological Prevention of the CRO of Aviano, recalling that although good prevention rules have been defined for some time, A significant percentage of people do not put them into practice or do so only partially. «One of the main problems is that often communication today does not ‘press on the right keys’: often the choice to implement healthy behaviors is not completely rational. That’s why showing the data of clinical trials is necessary but not sufficient to motivate our patients, for example, to say enough to smoking or alcohol consumption» adds Garutti, for years attentive to the issues of scientific communication and prevention, also through the Instagram profile @mattia.garutti.oncologist.
As the young oncologist explains, general practitioners can make a great contribution to the dissemination of cancer prevention issues, but too often the daily dynamics and bureaucratic obligations risk penalizing the time dedicated to
encourage rewarding lifestyles.»We would need a strategic and pragmatic ‘restructuring’ of the system, as well as a revolution within the school to get our children the valuable information to increase the chances that they will not encounter cancer along the way», he concludes.
The first step in directing patients towards prevention is to know the basics. Taking a cue from a short quiz published by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), here are five questions to «test yourself» on these issues.
Further information on the subject is available in the aforementioned volume «The numbers of cancer in Italy» and on the website of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), in the pages dedicated to European Code Against Cancer.
1.What is the percentage of cancers that could be avoided by following the basic rules of prevention?
a) 18%
b) 26%
c) 31%
d) 40%
e) 50%
2. What are the three main modifiable risk factors?
a) Tobacco, excess weight, alcohol b) Tobacco, sun/UV, alcohol
c) Tobacco, pathogens, physical inactivity
d) Tobacco, sun/UV, excess weight
e) Tobacco, physical inactivity, sun/UV
3.How many types of cancer (including lung cancer) are associated with tobacco use?
a) 7
b) 11
c) 18
d) 23
e) 35
4. What are the most common pathogens linked to the development of tumors?
a) Helicobacter pylori
b) Hepatitis B virus (HBV)
c) Hepatitis C virus (HCV)
d) Human papilloma virus (HPV)
e) All the above
5. Which of the following lifestyle changes can reduce cancer risk?
a) Staying physically active
b) Avoid eating red meat and processed foods
c) Maintain a healthy weight
d) Limit alcohol consumption
e) All the above
Answers: 1.and; 2. a; 3. c; 4. and; 5. e.
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