In terms of what you eat, the clearest ways of reducing the risk of cancer are to cut back on how much alcohol you drink, and to eat foods that will help you keep a healthy body weight. Alcohol and obesity have been convincingly linked to cancer through decades of solid, consistent evidence.

Otherwise, it’s a case of eating a healthy, balanced diet – one low in red and processed meat, saturated fat and salt, and high in fibre, fruit and vegetables. That may sound a bit boring, but it doesn’t look like there’s any single type of so-called “superfood” we can eat that will make a big impact on our risk of cancer.

A quick point about genes. Although it’s a mistake to say ‘it’s all in our genes’, our DNA does play a huge part in determining who develops cancer and who doesn’t. But the current thinking is that it’s not a case of lifestyle *as opposed to* genes – the two are mutually dependent. Some people who carry certain genetic variations are more susceptible to, say, the damaged caused by smoking or alcohol than others. Other genetic variations can help protect against this damage, as Ed wrote about last year.

As our understanding of exactly which genes are involved increases, doctors should eventually be able to offered tailored lifestyle and screening advice to individuals, based on their genetic profile. But this is some years off.

For now, rather than take the chance that you might have been dealt a ‘good genetic hand’, it’s best to try to live as healthy a lifestyle as you can, to give yourself the best possible chance of avoiding cancer.

Henry