A consultant oncologist at St Vincent's Hospital in Dublin has said "affluent lifestyle changes" are to blame for an increase in cancer cases in Ireland.
Dr Janis Walsh said increasing obesity, reduced exercise and increased alcohol intake are the main factors responsible and those with a body mass index (bmi) in excess of 25 tend to have an increased risk of cancer.
Dr Walsh said that changing lifestyle choices would radically cut the risk of cancer.
"It is estimated that we could reduce our cancers by between 30 and 50% by making sure we are of adequate weight, that we are exercising, and right now what's recommended is 30 minutes up to five times a week."
She added that studies have shown that reducing alcohol intake would also reduce the risk.
"So what we see in terms of cancer, particularly my area of interest would be breast cancer, we have many studies saying that if we go beyond two units a day there's an increased cancer risk associated with that and an increased cancer recurrence rate."
Dr Walsh said that an increase of cancers in the developing world is due to a lack of screening such as for breast and cervical cancer.
She said that new campaigns aimed at tackling obesity were very positive and that education would be the key to preventing cancer cases among younger generations.
"Education is the important thing here and I think that getting into our schools on an early basis will be key in terms of educating about careful sun exposure, appropriate foods to eat, the importance of getting out and exercising."
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