The National Cancer Registry says smoking is the biggest risk to people getting cancer.
An analysis by the Registry has found 29 per cent of cancers in the country are down to 11 modifiable risk factors.
As a result, it says 6,238 cancer cases were potentially preventable in 2016.
Smoking, being overweight or obese, and infections pose the biggest risks to getting cancer here, and altogether they account for 21 per cent of all cancers.
The biggest risks are for smokers and passive smokers. A current smoker is 9 times more likely to develop lung cancer than a non smoker, with 76 per cent of lung cancers in Ireland attributable to smoking, which includes passive smoking in the home.
Four years ago almost 2,800 cancer cases were attributed to smoking, being overweight or obese was behind 1,000 cases, while 500 cancer cases diagnosed were associated with a person's alcohol intake.
It is feared that from 2025 to 2035, these risks could be responsible for more than 66,000 cancer cases.
The National Cancer Registry says these projections must be considered by policymakers and there needs to be an effort to ensure that the projected increases are not realised.
