Curie Brief
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News
A landmark IARC study finds that 2.3 million new cancer cases in 2024 — about 1 in 8 globally — were caused by infections. H. pylori and HPV topped the list, together driving ~1.5 million cases. The good news: four of the five leading infectious cancer causes already have highly effective prevention tools available.
A sweeping new analysis published in Lancet Oncology by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reveals that 2.3 million cancer cases diagnosed worldwide in 2024 — roughly 12% of all cases — were attributable to infections. Five pathogens accounted for nearly all of them: H. pylori, HPV, hepatitis B virus (HBV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV).
One of the most striking findings was EBV's outsized role — it ranked as the fourth-leading infectious cause of cancer, ahead of HCV, largely due to newly established evidence linking it to gastric cancer in addition to nasopharyngeal cancer and lymphoma. The burden falls hardest on low- and middle-income countries, with eastern Asia accounting for 42% of infection-attributable cancers and sub-Saharan Africa contributing 25%.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: Four of the five leading infectious cancer causes already have proven prevention tools — vaccines, screening, and treatment programs. Scaling these up equitably could dramatically cut the global cancer burden. The critical gap remains EBV and KSHV, which still lack effective vaccines, making R&D investment an urgent priority.
