Advancing the Science of Cancer Prevention

February is National Cancer Prevention Month. Please join the American Association for Cancer Research in supporting important efforts to prevent cancer.

February is National Cancer Prevention Month.

Research has shown that more than half of all cancers diagnosed in the United States can be attributed to preventable causes – things like smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, and excessive exposure to the sun.

As a result, steps like quitting smoking (or never starting in the first place), maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, protecting your skin from the sun, and getting vaccinated against the viruses that cause certain cancers can dramatically reduce your risk of certain cancers.

In addition to what we’ve learned about behavioral approaches to preventing cancer, research is driving significant progress in prevention science. Scott M. Lippman, MD, editor-in-chief of the AACR journal  Cancer Prevention Research, contributed a guest post to the AACR’s blog, Cancer Research Catalyst, about the exciting advances in the realm of cancer prevention.

“The recent pace of cancer prevention research and translation has been astonishing,” wrote Dr. Lippman, who is director of the  University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center, a co-chair of the AACR Cancer Prevention Committee, and a member of the AACR board of directors.  To read more about the latest advances, see Dr. Lippman’s blog post here.

The AACR is committed to advancing the science of cancer prevention.  We work with a wide range of partners in biomedical research to develop strategies and promising approaches to prevention, aiming to stop cancer before it starts. Our eight peer-reviewed medical journals, including Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention and Cancer Prevention Research,  feature leading-edge research in the field.