Published : 09 Nov 2026, 11:08 PM
Updated : 09 Nov 2026, 11:08 PM
Around 12 percent of the world’s total cancer cases in 2024 were caused by infections, according to major new research from the World Health Organisation, reports the BBC.
The study, published in The Lancet Oncology, linked 2.3 million new cancer diagnoses to infectious agents.
Just five main pathogens accounted for the vast majority of these cases: Helicobacter pylori (4 percent), human papillomavirus or HPV (4 percent), hepatitis B (2 percent), Epstein-Barr virus (1 percent), and hepatitis C (under 1 percent).
Together, these organisms trigger more than 20 different forms of disease, including stomach, liver, blood, and cervical cancers, the study said.
Viruses cause malignancy by inserting viral DNA into host cells, carrying oncogenes, or deactivating proteins that regulate cell division.
Meanwhile, bacteria and parasites cause chronic inflammation, producing cellular stress that leads to cancer-causing genetic mutations.
The research highlights that millions of diagnoses are entirely preventable. Broad roll-outs of preventative measures – such as HPV and hepatitis B immunisation programmes, barrier contraception, routine screening, and targeted antimicrobial therapies -- can drastically cut rates, reports BBC.
However, global equity remains a severe hurdle, according to the BBC, with low- and middle-income countries bearing approximately 75 percent of the global infection-related cancer burden.
