A new study from the University of Alberta suggests that cancer may be more preventable than previously thought.
The results show that hereditary cancers account for only five to 10 percent of all cancers, while the remaining 90 to 95 percent are caused by external factors called exposomas or metabolites.
Exposomes are environmental factors, while metabolites are metabolic criteria that researchers say work together in reverse, influencing how cancer can spread.
“The things we eat, the things we breathe, the things that are part of your life or way of life, these are what we call an expository,” said David Wishart, a professor of biological sciences at U.
The Wishart Research Review, a joint project with the Department of Computer Science, examines datasets to show that researchers need to take a more holistic view of cancer in order to treat and prevent it better.
“Cancer is a complex disease,” he said. “This perspective tells us that cancer is really simple.”
The new view of cancer helps show that it is not just inherited or inevitable, Wishart said.
“There are things you can do,” Wishart said, such as limiting smoking, adjusting diet, and exposing themselves to air pollution and UV light.
“There are excellent therapies that are very effective in treating cancer,” he added. “But I think we, as a scientific community, are aware that there are other treatments that can be used to supplement or in some cases be very effective in treating cancer that may not be so devastating.
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