Effectiveness of public health measures in reducing the incidence and lethality of cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Cancer constitutes a real public health problem, and its burden is expected to increase national health systems. The future burden is likely to be much greater due to the increasing prevalence of factors that increase risk, such as smoking, alcoholism, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, sedentary lifestyle, etc. The objective of this work is to evaluate, through a systematic review, the impact of public health measures on the incidence and lethality of cancers. 51 studies met the inclusion criteria in this review. High adherence to established public health cancer control guidelines for nutrition and physical activity was consistently and significantly associated with reductions of 10% to 61% in overall cancer incidence colorectal cancer in men and women (27%-52%), the incidence of breast cancer (19-60%) and prostate cancer (5 -10%), Significant reductions in the incidence and lung cancer mortality after tobacco control measures. The human papilloma vaccine has shown excellent safety and close to 100% effectiveness in preventing persistent infections and precancerous lesions of the cervix due to types 16 and 18. Through this study, we were able to know the influence of public health measures on the incidence and lethality of cancers.