Neptune, N.J. Oct 01: When we think of cancer prevention, lifestyle factors like avoiding tobacco or wearing sunscreen usually come to mind. But a staggering new analysis published in The Lancet Oncology reveals that common infections are a massive, often overlooked driver of global cancer rates.
The study shows that just five infectious agents were responsible for a majority of the 2.3 million infection-linked cancer cases diagnosed worldwide in 2024 (accounting for roughly 12% of all new global cases).
This global data is especially timely given our domestic cancer burden. According to the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Facts & Figures 2026 report, the United States is projected to see approximately 2.1 million estimated new cancer cases this year. With overall cancer incidence remaining staggeringly high, understanding and preventing infection-driven cancers is a vital public health priority.
To help your audience understand what this means for their health and how to protect themselves, we can offer interviews with a panel of leading oncology and infectious disease experts from Hackensack Meridian Health and the John Theurer Cancer Center.
“This recent Lancet data is a profound reminder that a significant portion of our global cancer burden is fundamentally preventable,” says David Greenberg, M.D., medical director of hematology oncology at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center and a hematologist/oncologist at Ocean University Medical Center. “We have historically siloed infectious diseases and oncology, but they are deeply intertwined. By shifting our focus toward aggressive infection control, we can literally vaccinate and treat our way out of millions of future cancer diagnoses.”
“Some viruses, like Hepatitis B and C, are stealth pathogens that cause chronic, indolent infections. They can go unnoticed for decades, quietly inflaming the liver before ultimately leading to liver cancer, specifically hepatocellular carcinoma. Another vital example is the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which can lead to devastating outcomes like cervical cancer in women and penile cancer in men. Fortunately, we have the tools to protect ourselves: Hepatitis B and HPV are entirely vaccine-preventable, and Hepatitis C is now curable with a brief course of antiviral medication. Unfortunately, we are still losing lives to cancers that are entirely preventable because we are not prioritizing early viral screening and vaccination,” explains Alex Lazo-Vasquez, M.D., infectious disease specialist at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
“The human papillomavirus remains one of our most formidable, yet preventable, cancer-causing agents,” says Ashley Haggerty, MD, FACOG, Gynecologic Oncologist at Hackensack Meridian Riverview Medical Center. “HPV is so ubiquitous that almost every sexually active adult will contract it at some point. While we often associate it strictly with cervical cancer, it is also a massive driver of head, neck, and anogenital cancers. The fact that we have a highly effective vaccine against a virus that causes hundreds of thousands of cancers annually is a modern medical miracle—we just need to ensure widespread utilization.”
Hackensack Meridian Health experts are available to discuss implications of the study and what individuals can do to minimize their risk of infection-related cancers.
