# Infections cause 12% of new cancer cases

> A World Health Organization report links a dozen infections to cancer, raising hopes that prevention could stop certain malignancies.
- Title: Infections cause 12% of new cancer cases · TIME | Shortify
- Summary: A World Health Organization report links a dozen infections to cancer, raising hopes that prevention could stop certain malignancies. Twelve infections…
- Keywords: cancer, infections, world health organization, international agency for research on can, hpv, hepatitis b, hepatitis c, helicobacter pylori, epstein-barr virus, vaccination, news, world
- Source: TIME — https://time.com/article/2026/10/13/infections-linked-to-new-cancer-cases
- Author: Veronique Greenwood
- Published: 2026-10-13T18:07:34.354+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: cancer, infections, world health organization, international agency for research on can, hpv, hepatitis b, hepatitis c, helicobacter pylori, epstein-barr virus, vaccination, news, world
## Twelve infections, twelve percent of cancers
The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer found that twelve infections caused twelve percent of new cancer cases in twenty twenty-four, the most recent year for which data were available.
## HPV drives cervical and head cancers
Certain human papillomaviruses, or HPV, are behind the majority of cervical cancers and a number of head and neck cancers.About four percent of new cancer diagnoses in twenty twenty-four could be attributed to HPV infection.
## Hepatitis B and C linked to liver cancer
Hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections drive many cases of liver cancer, linked to two percent and less than one percent of new diagnoses respectively, according to the report.
## Stomach bacteria and Epstein-Barr virus
Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that infects the stomach and small intestine, was behind about four percent of new diagnoses.
## Most infected people never get cancer
Most people who have these infections will not develop cancer. There may be a years-long delay, and infection is often only one of a number of factors contributing to a given cancer.
## How infections trigger cancer growth
HIV suppresses the immune system, making it easier for other carcinogenic viruses to replicate.Helicobacter pylori causes tissue damage and produces toxins that destabilize the body's natural control of cellular growth.
## Vaccines and antibiotics reduce cancer risk
Helicobacter pylori can be cleared with antibiotics, reducing the risk of gastric cancer.The hepatitis B virus vaccine was the first vaccine developed against cancer.

> The hepatitis B virus vaccine was the first vaccine that was developed against cancer.
## Vaccine gaps and future prevention hopes
In the United States, hepatitis B vaccination rates in newborns have declined steeply over the last two years.
## Key takeaway

Twelve infections caused twelve percent of new cancer cases in twenty twenty-four, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, but most people with these infections never develop cancer.