One in eight cancer cases worldwide is linked to preventable infections, study finds

Infections caused by viruses, bacterium and parasites caused an estimated 2.3 million new cancer cases in 2024, with low- and middle-income countries bearing most of the burden.

Around 2.3 million new cancer cases globally were caused by virus, bacteria and parasite infections in 2024. That’s 12% of all new global cancer cases, according to a new study from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the World Health Organization’s cancer agency.

“Despite progress in vaccination and screening, infection-related cancers remain a major global challenge, with the burden falling disproportionately on populations in low- and middle-income countries,” said Harriet Rumgay, a scientist in the Cancer Surveillance Branch at IARC and a co-author of the study.

“The findings underscore the major role that infection control can play in reducing the global cancer burden,” she added.

The authors recommend measures spanning primary prevention, screening, treatment, research and policy, from scaling up existing vaccines and developing new ones to introducing parasite-specific control measures and expanding testing.

Investing in “new prevention tools could have the greatest impact,” said Gary Clifford, senior co-author of the study.

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