ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS CAUSE MORE
CANCERS THAN GENETICS

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Subject:     ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS CAUSE MORE CANCERS THAN GENETICS------
Date:        Sun, 16 Jul 2000 19:56:37 -0400
From:        Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization:     Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)

AmeriScan: July 14, 2000 - ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS CAUSE MORE CANCERS THAN GENETICS

BOSTON, Massachusetts, July 14, 2000 (ENS) - Most cancers are caused by environmental factors, not genetic problems, a new study concludes. A report in the July 13 edition of the "New England Journal of Medicine" finds that environmental factors contribute to about twice as many cancer cases as inherited factors. Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm combined data on 44,788 pairs of twins listed in the Swedish, Danish, and Finnish twin registries in order to assess the risks of cancer at 28 anatomical sites for the twins of cancer patients. Statistical modeling was used to estimate the relative importance of heritable and environmental factors in causing cancer at 11 of those sites.

Inherited genetic factors make a minor contribution to a person’s susceptibility to most types of cancer, the researchers found. The scientists did not identify what environmental factors may lead to cancer, but noted that a poor diet, lack of exercise, radiation and pollution are likely culprits, along with lifestyle choices like smoking.

"Environmental factors are more important than gene factors, and that's important to remember, especially since everyone thinks that everything is solved now that we have the human genome in our computers," said Paul Lichtenstein of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Some cancers were shown to have strong genetic components, including prostate and colorectal cancers.

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