Cancer is caused by infection in one out of six patients worldwide, according to a medical review published in The Lancet Oncology. That means as many as 2 million people a year get cancer for lack of preventive vaccines and antibiotics.
The BBC explains:
Vaccines are available to protect against human papillomavirus (HPV) — which is linked to cancer of the cervix — and hepatitis B virus — an established cause of liver cancer.
And experts know that stomach cancer can be avoided by clearing the bacterial infection H. pylori from the gut using a course of antibiotics.
As you might imagine, these types of preventable, infection-related cancers were found in greater proportion in developing countries.