title: European Code against Cancer 4th Edition: 12 ways to reduce your cancer risk.
abstract: This overview describes the principles of the 4th edition of the European Code against Cancer and provides an introduction to the 12 recommendations to reduce cancer risk. Among the 504.6 million inhabitants of the member states of the European Union (EU28), there are annually 2.64 million new cancer cases and 1.28 million deaths from cancer. It is estimated that this cancer burden could be reduced by up to one half if scientific knowledge on causes of cancer could be translated into successful prevention. The Code is a preventive tool aimed to reduce the cancer burden by informing people how to avoid or reduce carcinogenic exposures, adopt behaviours to reduce the cancer risk, or to participate in organised intervention programmes. The Code should also form a base to guide national health policies in cancer prevention. The 12 recommendations are: not smoking or using other tobacco products; avoiding second-hand smoke; being a healthy body weight; encouraging physical activity; having a healthy diet; limiting alcohol consumption, with not drinking alcohol being better for cancer prevention; avoiding too much exposure to ultraviolet radiation; avoiding cancer-causing agents at the workplace; reducing exposure to high levels of radon; encouraging breastfeeding; limiting the use of hormone replacement therapy; participating in organised vaccination programmes against hepatitis B for newborns and human papillomavirus for girls; and participating in organised screening programmes for bowel cancer, breast cancer, and cervical cancer.
authors.affiliation: International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Lyon, France. Electronic address: secretariat-cancer-code-europe@iarc.fr.
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schüz
authors.affiliation: International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Espina
authors.affiliation: International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Villain
authors.affiliation: International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Rolando
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Herrero
authors.affiliation: International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Maria E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Leon
authors.affiliation: CPO Piedmont, University Hospital "Città della Salute e della Scienza", Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Minozzi
authors.affiliation: International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Romieu
authors.affiliation: CPO Piedmont, University Hospital "Città della Salute e della Scienza", Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Nereo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Segnan
authors.affiliation: University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wardle
authors.affiliation: World Cancer Research Fund International, London, UK.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wiseman
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Belardelli
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bettcher
authors.affiliation: Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland, Bellinzona, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cavalli
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Gauden
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Galea
authors.affiliation: Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.
authors.forename: Gilbert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lenoir
authors.affiliation: University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Jose M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Martin-Moreno
authors.affiliation: Oncology Institute "Prof. Dr I. Chiricuta", Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Florian Alexandru
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Nicula
authors.affiliation: Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jørgen H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Olsen
authors.affiliation: Public Health England, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Julietta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Patnick
authors.affiliation: Institute of Oncology, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Maja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Primic-Zakelj
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Pekka
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Puska
authors.affiliation: Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Flora E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: van Leeuwen
authors.affiliation: German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Otmar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Wiestler
authors.affiliation: Maria Skoldowska-Curie Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Witold
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zatonski
mesh_terms: D005062:European Union; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D012307:Risk Factors; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*
keywords: Cancer prevention; Cancer risk factors; Cancer screening; Europe