Cancer is not just 'bad luck' but down to environment, study suggests

Cancer is overwhelmingly a result of environmental factors and not largely down to bad luck, a study suggests. Earlier this year, researchers sparked a debate after suggesting two-thirds of cancer types were down to luck rather than factors such as smoking. The new study, in the journal Nature, used four approaches to conclude only 10-30% of cancers were down to the way the body naturally functions or "luck". Experts said the analysis was "pretty convincing". Cancer is caused by one of the body's own stem cells going rogue and dividing out of control. Advertisement