Experts predict that by 2050 the global cancer burden will include 35 million new cancer cases. More recent 2024 statistics estimate 20 million new cancer cases. These numbers predict significant increases in cancer cases, and the accompanying social and economic costs, over the next two decades.

Increasing efforts on cancer prevention could prove a highly effective response to the growing cancer burden and the subsequent negative impacts associated with cancer diagnosis and treatment. To help guide prevention strategies, a team of researchers set out better to understand the impact of infection on the cancer burden. Because infectious agents represent a preventable cause of cancer, understanding the magnitude of cases related to prior infections could have a major impact on developing targeted and effective prevention strategies.

The results, recently published in The Lancet Oncology, demonstrate that one in eight cancer cases stems from infection.