NCD Watch

Preventing Cancer by Lifestyle Changes

14 January 2025 (Tue)

Cancer is a major public health problem, posing huge and growing disease burden both globally and locally. However, the World Health Organization appraises that 30–50% of cancers can be prevented by adopting a healthy lifestyle and implementing existing evidence-based public health measures; many cancers can be cured if detected early and treated effectively.

In 2022, the Hong Kong Cancer Registry recorded 35 373 new cancer cases. For both genders combined, the top five most commonly diagnosed cancers were cancers of the lung, breast, colorectum, prostate and liver. Cancer is also the leading cause of death in Hong Kong. In 2023, there were 14 867 registered deaths attributed to cancer and cancers of the lung, colorectum, liver, pancreas and breast topped the list.

To guard against cancer, members of the public are urged to avoid tobacco smoking, refrain from alcohol drinking, be physically active, have a balanced diet and maintain a healthy body weight and waist circumference.

In addition to primary prevention by healthy living, screening as a tool for secondary prevention is effective against some cancers by timely detection and treatment of pre-cancerous lesion or early cancer before symptoms appear.

Following the recommendations by the Cancer Expert Working Group on Cancer Prevention and Screening, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has launched the Cervical Screening Programme, the Colorectal Cancer Screening Programme and the Breast Cancer Screening Pilot Programme. Members of the public can talk to their doctors about relevant screening programmes and undergo cancer screening as recommended.

Source: NCD Watch January 2025