Scientists have found that most cancers are the result of bad luck rather than unhealthy lifestyles or inherited genetic defects. For years, health experts have cautioned that tumors appear because of poor diet, lack of exercise or genetic errors inherited from parents. The government even created the 100,000 Genomes Project to try to find the genetic roots of rare diseases and cancers. But now a study shows that most cancers are primarily the result of bad luck rather than poor lifestyle choices or defective DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Researchers found that two-thirds of cancers are triggered by random errors in cell division that are completely out of our control. They found that the more cells that need to divide to stay healthy, the more likely they are to develop cancer. This is the first time scientists have been able to explain why some cancers are more common than others. For example, the study explains why colon cancer is more prevalent than small bowel cancer because colon cells divide twice as fast as cells in the upper intestine. Scientists at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine studied 31 types of cancer, only nine of which were linked to people’s lifestyles or genetic defects. The other 22 cancers were simply the result of “bad luck,” with DNA and behavior having only a minor effect. Because it is impossible to prevent major types of cancer through behavior change or genetic screening, the scientists claim, it is more important to speed up diagnosis so they can be detected early. ”If two-thirds of the incidence of cross-tissue cancers can be explained by random DAN mutations at cell division, then changing our lifestyles and habits will be very helpful in preventing some cancers, but it may not be as effective in preventing others.” Cristian K. Tomasetti According to Cristian Tomasetti, PhD, “We should put more resources into finding ways to confirm such cancers at an early, treatable stage.” Cell division is important for renewing the body and repairing damage. But sometimes one chemical message of DNA is mistakenly exchanged with another during replication, leading to the creation of cancer-causing cells. The scientists examined the number of cell divisions in 31 human tissues and compared it to the total cancer rate in the U.S. population. They found that the more genetic mutations there were, the higher the cancer rate. This means that it is the random number of errors in the replication process rather than external environmental forces that cause tumors. For example, pancreatic cells regenerate much faster than pelvic cells, which is the reason pancreatic cancer is more common than pelvic cancer. Yet some cancers like lung and skin cancer are more prevalent than their genetic mutations would predict, meaning that genetic or lifestyle factors increase the risk of developing them. ”People who live long cancer-free lives exposed to cancer-causing factors such as tobacco often attribute it to their ‘good genes,’ but the truth is that most of them have good luck.” Lead researcher Bert Fogelstein, who has been working on the study for more than a decade, said the study is a good one. Bert Vogelstein said, “Our study shows that, in general, changes in the number of cell divisions in a particular tissue type are highly correlated with changes in the incidence of cancer in that tissue.” ”We found that those cancer types that have a higher risk of causing cancer than predicted by cell division count are the types of cancer you can accurately predict, including lung cancer associated with smoking, skin cancer associated with sun exposure, and various cancers associated with genetic syndromes.” Yet health experts say the study shows how important it is to reduce the incidence of certain cancers through healthy diet, exercise and smoking cessation. ”While some genetic errors are due to bad luck, we know that our cancer risk depends on a combination of our genes, environment and aspects of our lives, many of which are controllable for us.” Emma Smith, PhD, senior scientific information officer at Cancer Research UK, said. We estimate that more than four out of ten cancers can be prevented through lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking, maintaining a proper weight, eating a healthy diet and limiting alcohol consumption,” said Emma Smith, Ph. These changes don’t guarantee that we won’t get cancer, but they can increase the likelihood that we will get less cancer. It is crucial that we continue to make breakthroughs in detecting cancer early and in improving therapies.” Hans Cleves Professor Hans Clevers, a stem cell and cancer biologist at the Hubrecht Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) in Utrecht, the Netherlands, said the research will help cancer patients realize that it is not their fault they got sick. ”The average cancer patient is just unlucky,” says Professor Kleefs.