Genes only responsible for minor proportion of cancer cases : professor

A top Czech cancer specialist has said that only around 8-10 percent of cancers are probably caused by genetics. The overwhelming proportion of remaining cases are linked to external factors such as the environment and age, Professor Luboš Petruželka said at a conference on cancer in Prague. Around one in three Czechs eventually suffer from cancer. The professor said that doctors needed to be educated better about the signs of possible cancer. The toolbox of treatments has remained largely unchanged over the past decades, the professor pointed out, making the reduction of external causes one of the most promising routes to follow.

Author: Chris Johnstone