Study reveals at least 2.3 million new cancer cases in 2024 were caused by common infections, almost all of which could have been prevented

Maeve Cullinan

Global Health Security Reporter

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Maeve Cullinan is a reporter for The Telegraph’s Global Health Security desk. She covers issues including disease outbreaks, conflict, global development, humanitarian crises, and sexual violence and has reported from Africa and Asia. She was named on the Press 30 under 30 list in 2025.

Published 29 September 2026 4:36pm BST

At least one in eight cancers worldwide are caused by viruses and bacteria, according to a new study published in The Lancet .

An estimated 2.3 million new cancer cases in 2024 – out of a total of 20 million recorded worldwide – were caused by common infections, almost all of which could have been prevented with treatments such as antibiotics or vaccines.

Almost half of infection-linked cancers, around 760,000 cases, were caused by H.…