New research has linked 12% of cancer cases to infections: what does this mean?

In Focus by The Hindu · Oct 12, 2026 · 31m

We’re used to thinking of cancer as something for which there is no known cause and we know that risk factors include using tobacco and excessive alcohol as well as obesity. And while of these factors are true, what we may not have realised is that infections could also, in some cases, lead to cancers. A new study conducted by the International Agency for Research on Cancer or IARC, has now found that infections were responsible for 2.3 million new cancer cases in 2024, or 12% of the total cases globally that year.

What infections? A bacterium and several viruses were linked cancer cases, and…