Although the today's medical advancement has managed to narrow down activities that lead to cancer, experts are still unable to pinpoint the exact cause of the disease. With the help of a £20 million grant, experts will try to solve such mystery.

Experts from Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge and International Agency for Research on Cancer in France will work together to complete the picture of what really causes cancer fully. These team of experts has the fingerprints found in the human DNA for their lead.

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It is already a known fact that almost every person could be identified with the help of his fingerprint. Similarly, experts recently discovered that DNA fingerprints might also be used to determine its cause. The DNA inside a cancer cell is tied up to a known cause, and that is what experts wanted to understand fully.

"As cells go through life, they pick up mistakes in their DNA. And depending on the number and type of mistakes, a cell develops its own distinct mutational 'fingerprint.' These 'fingerprints' provide clues on how a cell has lived its life, so by studying them we can not only identify what mistakes are in a cell, but also what caused them," Cancer Research UK quoted the director of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge Sir Mike Stratton as saying.

Meanwhile, since the study is yet to achieve its goal, it is still good to take note of some of the most common causes of cancer. It has already been known that lifestyle and genetics are two of the known factors.

Since genetics may not be easily altered to prevent cancer, it is better to reevaluate your lifestyle concerning cancer risk. There are certain human activities that may lead to cancer which should be avoided, such as smoking, too much drinking, and eating unhealthy food.

Watch here below ways to prevent cancer: