These 9 cancer risk factors were linked to 40% of all adult cases, 50% of all deaths in 2019

[In the player above, watch previous FOX 8 News coverage on colorectal cancer rates rising among young adults .]

(WJW) — Nine cancer risk factors were linked to 2 in 5 cancer cases and about half of all cancer deaths in Americans age 30 and older in 2019, according to a study published this week by American Cancer Society researchers.

They’re all things that can potentially be changed or avoided to reduce cancer risk:

• Cigarette smoking
• Secondhand smoke
• Excess body weight
• Alcohol consumption
• Consumption of red and processed meat
• Low consumption of fruits, vegetables and dietary fiber and calcium
• Physical inactivity
• Exposure to ultraviolet radiation
• Infection from several cancer-causing viruses

6 leading risk factors

Smoking was the leading risk factor by far, contributing to nearly 20% of all cancer cases and 30% of all cancer deaths in 2019, according to a Thursday news release . The next-most prevalent factors were body weight, alcohol consumption, UV exposure and inactivity.

Despite considerable declines in smoking prevalence during the past few decades, the number of lung cancer deaths attributable to cigarette smoking in the United States is alarming. This finding underscores the importance of implementing comprehensive tobacco control policies in each state to promote smoking cessation, as well as heightened efforts to increase screening for early detection of lung cancer, when treatment could be more effective. Interventions to help maintain healthy body weight and diet can also substantially reduce the number of cancer cases and deaths in the country, especially given the increasing incidence of several cancer types associated with excess body weight, particularly in younger individuals.

Dr. Farhad Islami, senior scientific director, cancer disparity research at the American Cancer Society

Cancer types with modifiable risk factors

Researchers used national data on cancer incidence and mortality, as well as the prevalence of those risk factors in cases among 30 types of cancer.

Among the cancers with modifiable risk factors, lung cancer was the most prevalent among men and women, accounting for more than 200,000 cases that year, according to the findings. It was followed by skin melanoma (50,000 cases); colorectal cancer (44,000 cases); breast cancer in women (83,800 cases); and urinary bladder cancer in men (32,000 cases); among others.

All reported cases of cervical cancer and Kaposi sarcoma (a gastrointestinal cancer) in 2019 were caused by those risk factors, according to the findings. Other cancers also with a proportionally high relation to risk factors included skin melanomas (92%); and cancers of the anus (94%); larynx, or voice box (90%); lung and bronchus (88%); esophagus (85%); and mouth (84%).

These findings show there is a continued need to increase equitable access to preventive health care and awareness about preventive measures. Effective vaccines are available for hepatitis B virus, that causes liver cancer and HPV, which can cause several cancer types, including cervical, other anogenital, and oropharyngeal cancers. Vaccination at the recommended time can substantially reduce the risk of chronic infection, and consequently, cancers associated with these viruses. HPV vaccination uptake in the United State is suboptimal.

Dr. Ahmedin Jemal, senior vice president, surveillance and health equity science at the American Cancer Society

Read the full results of the study here .

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.