How to prevent cancer? Kalil and guests debate the topic

Cancer continues to be one of the biggest public health challenges in Brazil. Data from the National Cancer Institute (INCA) estimate around 781 thousand new cases of the disease per year in the country until 2025, with emphasis on breast, prostate, intestine and lung tumors. The growth in incidence accompanies changes in the population's lifestyle, such as increased obesity, sedentary lifestyle, ultra-processed diet and greater exposure to environmental factors.

In the program "Vital Signs - Dr. Kalil Interview", the cardiologist welcomes oncologists Paulo Hoff, professor of Oncology at FMUSP and director of ICESP, and Maria Ignez Braghiroli, clinical oncologist at ICESP, to discuss the mechanisms that lead to the emergence of cancer and the factors that explain the increase in diagnoses in recent decades. They clarified public doubts about the topic and warned about how to prevent cancer.

How to prevent cancer?
There are several attitudes that can help prevent cancer. One of them is physical activity: Hoff cites a Canadian scientific study from 2025 that followed people with cancer who did physical activity, looking for a correlation between this and the reduction of tumors. But, in addition to noticing the positive impact on that tumor, the study also recorded a lower chance of having new neoplasms.

On the other hand, smoking is a habit that should be discouraged. Smoking is a major villain among the habits that promote cancer, but in Brazil it is much less common than in other countries.

Another important point is to pay attention to screening, aiming to identify tumors early. Cancer is usually silent, as Hoff explains: "A little one-centimeter tumor has a billion cells. So, from the moment a normal cell became a cancerous cell, made this transition, had the mutations, it's a very long process", he describes.

And the problem with it getting advanced is that the treatment needs to be greater, as the tumor covers a wider area. "Unfortunately, in a more advanced disease, surgery is often not the first option, you have to think about systemic treatment", considers Ignez.

"CNN Vital Signs - Dr. Kalil Interview" will be shown this Saturday, May 23, at 7:30 pm, on CNN Brasil.

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Source: CNN