Summary of Practical Measures to Prevent Cancer

and Karl Reinhard Aigner³

(1)

Department of Surgery, The University of Sydney, Mosman, NSW, Australia

(2)

The Royal Prince Alfred and Sydney Hospitals, Mosman, NSW, Australia

(3)

Department of Surgical Oncology, Medias Clinic Surgical Oncology, Burghausen, Germany

Is this chapter, you will learn about:

Smoking
Viral and bacterial protection
Genetic protection
Skin cancers
Diets – cancers of the stomach, bowel, breast, prostate and thyroid
Breast cancer – other potential preventive measures
Industrial cancers
Ionising irradiation
Early detection and treatment of pre-malignant or potentially pre-malignant conditions

Prevention is so much better than cure. There are many cancer preventive measures that should become lifestyle habits, but one of the most important is for people to seek medical advice if they have any suspicion of anything going wrong (Fig. 3.1).

Fig. 3.1

People should be encouraged to seek early advice about any suspicious lesion

3.1 Smoking

The most obvious preventive measure in reducing the risk of serious cancer is to avoid smoking.

The most obvious preventive measure in reducing the risk of serious cancer is to avoid smoking. By not smoking, the risk of developing many cancers is greatly reduced. Even spending frequent long periods in a smoky atmosphere (passive smoking) is associated with increased cancer risk and should therefore be avoided.

3.2 Viral and Bacterial Protection

Condoms have been the most practical way of providing an immediate practical protection against the human papillomavirus (HPV). However, Professor Ian Frazer working in Brisbane, Australia, has shown in recent trials that a vaccine against certain types of the human papillomavirus has an extremely high effectiveness with regard to an immunity to the virus types that are responsible for most cancers of the cervix. The typical immunization has to date been a quadruple immunization against types 16 and 18, which can cause cancers of the cervix, as well as against types 6 and 11, which cause less dangerous genital warts. All four are types of class alpha. Skin cancer is induced by the types of class beta, against which no vaccines have yet completed clinical trials. Persons at risk, above all girls and young women before they become sexually active, will be advised to have immunization against the human papillomavirus. A vaccine against hepatitis B provides indirect protection against liver tumours. Widespread vaccination programs are currently being conducted in several countries.