90% of cancer cases are caused by environmental factors

90 percent of cancer cases are caused by environmental factors. Therefore, a large proportion of them are preventable with good living habits and healthy environments, as remarked the director of the International Agency for Research in Cancer, from the World Health Organization (WHO), Christopher P. Wild.

At the inaugural conference of the 23 World Congress of International Society
Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE, its acronym in English), Wild alluded to European data which point that "one of three cancers are preventable."

After noting the important role of environmental factors in the development of
tumors, the expert showed that "the potential for prevention is much more
one of three”. Thus, he commits to implementation of prevention strategies in parallel with research on the cancers origins.

In his presentation "Cancer and environment: research priorities', Wild listed tobacco, infections, diet, obesity, radiation, reproductive and hormones factors, alcohol, occupation and pollution as the "major risk factors for cancer."

The Minister of Health of the Generalitat, Boi Ruiz, was host of the opening Congress, which pointed out that Catalonia has 10,000 innovation companies, 26,000 researchers, 23 research and technology parks and 12 large research infrastructures.