Questions About Cancer

40 percent of cancers can be prevented and 20 per cent is associated with viral or bacterial infection that can cause stomach cancer, uterine or liver disease, said today in the Spanish oncology expert at the World Cancer Day night.
Director of the Master Plan of Oncology in Barcelona, Josep Maria Borras said that 40 percent of all cancers could be prevented by vaccines, changes in lifestyle and diet, and lead a healthy lifestyle.
In a press conference on the next occasion of the World Day against Cancer, Borras showed that survival has increased over the years and have reduced the possibility of death from cancer thanks to new treatment, which also improve the quality of life of patients.
For this expert, one big improvement from the last 15 years has found that some types of cancer associated with infection, and provide a potential vaccine for prevention and care, such as Helicobacter pylori (HP).
Head of nutrition and cancer unit of the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), Carlos Alberto Gonzalez said about HP is a bacteria associated with peptic ulcer and gastric lymphoma.
According to Gonzalez, HP is the most important risk factor for stomach cancer, which is the fourth most common in the world, and the second most deadly, because of bad weather and they were in advanced stages.
He explained that while HP infection is important, also involved in cancer development of food, tobacco and genetic vulnerability.
He recalled, the study underlines a greater risk when combined with HP and tobacco showing that consumption of red meat increases the risk of gastric cancer in people infected by this agent.
In Spain every year there are about 8 thousand new cases of gastric cancer, which ranks fifth among malignancies in both sexes.
Dr. Gonzalez also explained that alleged that HP infection, which can be eradicated with antibiotics and is caused by pressure colonizes the gastric mucosa, (without knowing exactly how it happened) could also be associated with pancreatic and colon cancer.
Head of Infection and Cancer Unit of the ICO, Silvia Sanjosé, recall that the hepatitis B and C have a direct role as a precursor to liver cancer, because they cause chronic inflammation, tissue necrosis, and is also thought to contribute to the development of lymphoma.
He added that other cancers such as breast or skin infectious etiology also searched.
These experts say that not all infection is very bad, because there are some that stimulate the immune system, especially when contracted in childhood.
In this case, he said, can not think of a life free from infection and super-cleaning that occurs in today’s society to slow the immune system, which may be the origin of some tumors.
A message that has been launched is that parents do not feel guilty about the kids caught a lot of colds in nursery, as this may be a good mechanism to achieve the immune system is good.