According to a new study led by Nick Payne of Cancer Research UK and colleagues, the majority of the socioeconomic disparity, or deprivation gap, in cancer incidence in England between 2013 and 2017 could have been avoided if no one had smoked. The study was released on September 21 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.
In England, smoking caused 15% of all cancer cases in 2015, making it the primary preventable cause of cancer and mortality in the country. In England, the lowest income quintile of the population had a 17% higher total cancer incidence rate than the top quintile. Cancer incidence varies by socioeconomic status across the UK.
The new study’s researchers concentrated on 15 cancer types that have over 8 out of 10 cancer cases in England connected with deprivation and smoking, according to substantial evidence.
Cancer incidence, smoking prevalence (in 2003–2007, accounting for the lag between smoking and cancer diagnosis), and the relative risk of developing cancer among smokers compared to non-smokers were combined to determine the number of cancer cases in 2013–17 that may be attributed to smoking.
The number of cases of cancer linked to deprivation was then divided by the cases of smoking-related cancer. According to the study, smoking caused 21.1% of cancer cases in the population’s most poor quintile but only 9.7% of cancer cases in its least deprived quintile, a roughly 2.2-fold difference.
This study is the first of its kind to quantitively assess the contribution of smoking to deprivation-associated cancer incidence in England. The findings help to confirm that smoking is the key driver of cancer incidence inequalities in England, therefore policy measures should continue to bring down smoking prevalence with a specific focus on the most deprived populations.
More than 5,000 cases of cancer each year, or 20.3% of deprivation-associated malignancies, could have been avoided if everyone smoked at the same rate as the least impoverished quintile.
61% of cancer incidence linked to poverty, or more than 16,000 cases annually, could have been avoided if no one smoked at all. Smoking was most frequently to blame for cases of lung, larynx, pharynx, bladder, and oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma among cancer types.
The authors draw the conclusion that given their influence on lowering smoking-related ill-health, particularly cancer rates, tobacco control programs that address smoking inequalities may prove to be cost-effective.
The authors add: “This study is the first of its kind to quantitively assess the contribution of smoking to deprivation-associated cancer incidence in England. The findings help to confirm that smoking is the key driver of cancer incidence inequalities in England, therefore policy measures should continue to bring down smoking prevalence with a specific focus on the most deprived populations.”
