Almost 700 000 cases of cancer a year in Europe could be avoidable, new research has shown (International Journal of Cancer 2006 Dec 27, doi: 10.1002/ijc.22459).

The study, which looked at 11 cancers that can be prevented by changes to lifestyle, estimates that of 1.4 million cases, more than half—363 000 (59%) in men and 326 000 (45%) in women—could be avoidable.

In men, the proportion was largest in Hungary (77%); in women, the proportion was largest in Belgium (54%).

“Interventions directed at reducing smoking, obesity and alcohol use, as well as increasing physical activity …