A new study has found that up to nine out of 10 cancers are caused by lifestyle and environmental factors which include smoking, drinking, sun exposure and air pollution.
Previous research attributed random cell mutations to the development of tumors and this was tagged the bad luck hypothesis.
Scientists now believe that outside influences have a far greater impact and people can reduce their risk of having cancer if they make simple lifestyle changes such as keeping out of the sun, exercising or cutting down on cigarettes.
Yusuf Hannun of Stony Brook University New York, US, said: “Here we provide evidence that intrinsic risk factors contribute only modestly to cancer development.
“The rates of mutation accumulation by intrinsic processes are not sufficient to account for the observed cancer risks.”
The research was published in the journal Nature.
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