Most cancer cases down to bad luck, study shows

Most cases of cancer are the result of sheer bad luck rather than unhealthy lifestyles, diet or even inherited genes, research suggests.

Random mutations that occur in DNA when cells divide are responsible for two thirds of adult cancers across a wide range of tissues, a study has shown. The remaining third are linked to environmental factors or defective genes, it found.

But the scientists warn that poor lifestyle can add to the “bad luck factor”.