Around one in eight cancers diagnosed worldwide in 2024 was likely caused by an infection, according to a new study from the World Health Organization.

The research, published in The Lancet Oncology, linked 2.3 million new cancer cases to infections. That is about 12 per cent of all cancer cases that year.

Most were caused by just five pathogens. Helicobacter pylori accounted for about 760,000 cases, mainly stomach cancer. Human papillomavirus, or HPV, was linked to 750,000 cases, mostly cervical cancer.

Hepatitis B was linked to 360,000 cases, mainly liver cancer. Epstein-Barr virus accounted for 260,000 cases and hepatitis C for 160,000.

The infections were connected to 20 different types of cancer, including stomach, liver, blood and cervical cancers.

The burden was highest in low- and middle-income countries, which carried about 77 per cent of infection-related cancers. India alone had an estimated 190,000 such cases.

Many of these cancers are preventable. HPV and hepatitis B vaccines lower risk, while cervical screening can catch precancerous changes early.