Cancer is a large group of diseases that can start in almost any organ or tissue of the body when abnormal cells grow uncontrollably, and go beyond their usual boundaries to invade adjoining parts of the body. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is the second most common cause of death globally, accounting for millions of deaths every year. Lung, prostate, colorectal, stomach and liver cancer are the most common types of cancer in men, while breast, colorectal, lung, cervical and thyroid cancer are the most common among women. However, these are not necessarily the deadliest forms of cancer.

What makes cancer the deadliest depends upon how many people have it and what percentage of those people actually survive. Cancer researchers determine this on the basis of five-year relative survival. This is the percentage of people who are expected to survive the effects of a given cancer, excluding their risk of other possible causes of death, for five years past a diagnosis. It is also important to note that what makes cancer really deadly is that practically no cure for it. A cure for cancer would imply that there are no cancerous cells remaining in the body.

Here are the 5 deadliest cancers in the U.S., according to SEER five-year relative survival data for cases diagnosed between 2014 and 2020.

1. Pancreatic cancer occurs when cells in your pancreas, a gland in your abdomen that aids digestion, mutate and multiply out of control, forming a tumour. Major risk factors include smoking, obesity, diabetes, chronic pancreatitis, certain genetic mutations and environmental chemical exposure.

2. Esophageal cancer develops in the oesophagus, which is the tube that connects your throat to your stomach.

3. Liver cancer and intrahepatic bile duct cancer originate in the liver or bile ducts, often linked to hepatitis infections, heavy alcohol use, obesity, and aflatoxin exposure.

4. Lung and bronchus cancer primarily caused by smoking, secondhand smoke, and environmental pollutants, affects the lungs and airways, making it the leading cause of cancer death in the US.

5. Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is an aggressive blood and bone marrow cancer that progresses rapidly, often linked to genetic mutations, radiation exposure, and certain chemicals.

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Heart disease is the leading cause of death globally and in the United States, claiming roughly 17.9 to 19.8 million lives each year. Cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and stroke account for roughly one in every three deaths worldwide.

To date, there is no single vaccine that cures or prevents heart disease itself. However, researchers from the University of Oxford found that the currently available shingles vaccine, Shingrix, may significantly lower the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Published in the journal Nature Medicine, the observational research, based on health records of 70,000 people in the US, showed that people who received the recombinant shingles vaccine were less likely than unvaccinated people to have heart attacks, strokes or heart failure.

“Given the global burden of cardiovascular disease, these findings, if confirmed in clinical trials and mechanistic studies, would have important implications for public health,” the researchers said in the paper.

Also read: Unapproved Weight-Loss Drug Caused Hospitalisations In Ireland: What Is Retatrutide & Why Is It Risky?

What Did The Study Find?

The Oxford researchers tracked the health records of 70,000 adults aged 60 and over for seven years after vaccination, which involved an initial dose and a booster.

Shingrix was associated with a 12% reduction in cardiovascular events — including heart attacks, heart failure and stroke — in the first three and a half years after vaccination.

By the end of the follow-up, the vaccine was associated with a 4% lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

While this represents a small change in absolute risk, the overall impact could be significant.

“If confirmed in a randomized controlled trial, the effect of Shingrix would be equivalent to antihypertensives,” co-author Maxime Taquet, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Oxford, said at a media briefing.

What Is Shingrix?

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Shingrix is the recombinant herpes zoster (shingles) vaccine. Shingles is a painful, often serious flare-up of the chickenpox virus from childhood. It can cause a rash and nerve pain that may persist for months or years after the rash clears, a complication known as post-herpetic neuralgia.

In 2006, Zostavax became the first vaccine available against shingles and was based on a weakened version of the chickenpox virus. It was succeeded by Shingrix in 2017, a more effective recombinant vaccine that uses newer vaccine technology.

How Could Shingrix Reduce CVD Risk?

Research is ongoing and more definitive evidence is awaited. According to experts, Shingrix may help reduce cardiovascular risk because shingles may increase the risk of heart and vascular diseases.

Separately, the vaccine could be having broader effects on the immune system that suppress inflammatory proteins.

“This study remains observational, even though it’s a natural experiment, and so we are keen to see results from randomized controlled trials. And one of them is underway,” Taquet said, The Guardian was quoted as saying.

More Research Is Needed

“If confirmed, Shingrix could prevent hundreds of thousands of cardiovascular events in the USA alone, and may be the first vaccine that protects the heart and the brain,” Taquet said.

While shingles vaccines are currently offered mainly to middle-aged or older people, others could possibly benefit, too. Taquet said more people should be vaccinated against shingles, STAT News reported.

“If these findings and the findings we provided for dementia help sort of nudge that, then that’s great. And if they are then confirmed in randomized controlled trials, the benefit might be enormous, for the people and for the economy and the health services,” he said.

“If this helps people get the vaccine, then that’s great. But they should get it for the shingles protection in the first instance.”

Ahead of the festive season, the Uttar Pradesh food safety and drug administration have tightened inspections of sweets, dairy products and other food items. According to latest reports, around 490 kg of sweets and 275 kg of paneer destroyed in Bareilly after officials found them unfit for consumption or being stored in unhygienic conditions.

The move comes as demand for sweets, khoya, milk and paneer increases around festivals including Raksha Bandhan, Barawafat (Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi) and Janmashtami.

490 Kg Of Sweets Destroyed In Bareilly

Four food safety teams conducted raids across Bareilly on August 24. During an inspection at Tirpal Ankur Sweets in Nadausi village, officials found sweets including kalakand, barfi, sohan papdi and rasgullas being prepared, handled, and stored in unhygienic conditions.

Assistant Commissioner (Food) Rahul Singh said samples were collected and sent to a laboratory for testing. Officials destroyed 140 kg of kalakand and 350 kg of barfi, together weighing around 490 kg and estimated to be worth Rs 1.70 lakh.

Samples were also collected from several other sweet shops, including peda, barfi, khoya and laddus. Further action will be taken depending on the laboratory results.

Also read: FSSAI Flags Food Firms For Misleading ‘100%’, ‘Energy Drink’, Immunity Claims

275 Kg Spoiled Paneer Seized And Destroyed

In a separate operation, food safety officials and police intercepted a food transport vehicle which was travelling from Badaun to Bareilly around midnight on August 23.

The team recovered approximately 275 kg of paneer, which officials said was in a highly deteriorated condition. They said it had been emitting a foul odour and had been stored unhygienically.

After collecting a sample, authorities seized and destroyed the entire batch, estimated to be worth around Rs 65,760.

The action comes amid similar food safety drives during festive season at other places in Uttar Pradesh.

In Noida, authorities recently seized and destroyed around 300 kg of paneer, citing it was unfit for consumption. Multiple samples of paneer, curd and sweets were sent for laboratory testing.

Also read: FSSAI Orders Halt Of Ghee Sales Amid Adulteration Crackdown: How To Spot Fake Ghee & Its Effects On Your Health

Why Are Unsafe Sweets And Paneer A Health Risk?

Poor hygiene and improper storage of food can allow harmful microorganisms to grow in food, especially in milk-based products like paneer, khoya and other sweets.

Eating contaminated food can cause food poisoning, with symptoms like nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps and fever.

In some cases, particularly among young children, older adults and people with weakened immunity, severe infection can lead to dehydration and other serious complications.

Spoiled dairy products can also undergo deterioration on a microbe level, which can produce foul odour and harmful changes in texture and taste. But, appearance, taste or smell alone cannot reliably determine whether food is safe, which is why laboratory testing is important.

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How Can Consumers Stay Safe During Festive Season?

As festive demand rises, consumers can reduce their risk by buying sweets and dairy products from licensed, reputable establishments and avoiding products that appear improperly stored or handled.

Fresh dairy-based sweets should be kept under appropriate temperature conditions, while packaged products should be checked for expiry dates, manufacturing details and storage instructions.

This comes amid a broader FSSAI action in which the food safety authority has been tightening rules against food establishments and brands that are in violation due to various misconducts. Recently, it ordered to stop the sale of all variants of ghee manufactured by Daman-based SDP Industries, after laboratory tests found signs of adulteration and violation of food safety standards.

The move came after an inspection conducted on May 19. FSSAI said multiple samples were found adulterated, with laboratory analysis detecting β-sitosterol, a plant sterol that should not be present in genuine ghee. The samples also contained abnormalities in fatty-acid composition.

The food regulator has prohibited the manufacture, storage and sale of the company’s ghee products from its authorised premises until further orders. The products include brands like SHRADDHA, SHREE SARAS and GOKUL.

Irish health authorities are warning people against using retatrutide, an experimental weight-loss drug that has led to multiple cases of hospitalisation after people obtained it outside legitimate clinical trials through unlawful sources.

The warning comes as demand for the drug has grown online, particularly through fitness networks. Despite retatrutide not yet being approved, the masses have been reported to obtain and administer it without medical supervision.

Ireland's Health Service Executive (HSE) has reported patients presenting with serious side effects after taking the drug, including severe vomiting and kidney problems.

Prof Donal O'Shea, HSE Clinical Lead for Obesity, said doctors are seeing patients who have taken retatrutide obtained through unofficial channels.

He said, "Personal trainers who have been giving these jabs give no advice about side effects and how to manage those side effects, leading to real problems".

He also warned that some people are choosing not to disclose this information to the healthcare professionals, which has been making it harder to identify the cause of their symptoms and administer appropriate treatment.

He added, “They are too embarrassed to say they are taking it, leaving us blindfolded when we are trying to come to a conclusion.”

Retatrutide Is An Unapproved Experimental Drug

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Retatrutide is currently being developed by Eli Lilly as a once-weekly injection. Unlike existing GLP-1 medicines like semaglutide and tirzepatide, it simultaneously targets three hormone pathways --- GLP-1, GIP and glucagon. The combination is developed to target appetite, blood sugar regulation and energy metabolism simultaneuously.

Lilly's latest Phase 3 results have shown substantial weight loss. In one trial involving people with obesity or overweight and type 2 diabetes, participants receiving the highest studied dose lost an average of 20.8% of their body weight after 80 weeks.

Another Phase 3 trial reported average weight loss of up to 22.6% after 80 weeks in people with severe obesity and cardiovascular disease.

But promising results do not mean the medicine is ready for unrestricted use, especially before clearance. Its unapproved status indicates that researchers are still examining the drug for potential side-effects and other complications.

Lilly says retatrutide remains an investigational medicine and is legally available only to participants in its clinical trials. The company plans to submit it to the FDA in the first quarter of 2027.

Why Are People Being Hospitalised?

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The Irish warning is particularly concerning as people obtaining retatrutide outside clinical trials may not have an idea about what they are actually injecting, how concentrated the drug is or whether it has been manufactured and stored safely.

Prof O'Shea highlighted cases involving nausea, vomiting and kidney problems. He said, "We had somebody in at the weekend who was getting. Retatrutide twice a week in the gym they go to from their personal trainer and they were in hospital with vomiting and kidney disease. That’s going to happen widescale if people are taking this drug."

Severe vomiting can itself become dangerous because prolonged fluid loss can cause dehydration and acute kidney injury, particularly when someone is unable to keep fluids down.

Growing Concern Of Black Markets

Retatrutide's impressive weight-loss results have fuelled demand for it even though it has not been approved by the FDA. Recent reports spark concerns of a growing black market for the drug, with products being promoted through social media, online sellers, fitness communities and some unregulated clinics. Eli Lilly has taken legal action against companies accused of selling unauthorised retatrutide products.

This is particularly concerning because buyers may mistake a product marketed as “research use only” for a medicine that is safe for human injection. The HSE is urging people not to use retatrutide obtained outside a legitimate clinical trial.

Anyone experiencing severe vomiting, abdominal symptoms, weakness, reduced urination or other concerning symptoms after taking an unapproved weight-loss injection should seek medical attention and tell doctors exactly what they have taken.