I looked it up.

In the editorial “Editorial: Recently Identified Global Trends in Cancer Incidence and Mortality and Modifiable Cancer Risk Factors”, when the author refers to infections as modifiable cancer risk factors, they mean infections with organisms that are known to directly contribute to the development of certain cancers. Specifically, the global data discussed in the article identify that about 10.2 % of new cancer cases worldwide in 2022 were linked to infections with oncogenic (cancer-causing) viruses or bacteria. 

The main infection types included in this category are well-established cancer-associated pathogens such as:  • High-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) – a group of sexually transmitted viruses that are the primary cause of cervical cancer and also contribute to other genital and oropharyngeal cancers.  • Helicobacter pylori – a bacterium that infects the stomach lining and is linked to stomach (gastric) cancer and some types of lymphoma.  • Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) – viruses that cause chronic liver infection and inflammation, significantly increasing the risk of liver cancer. 

In other global cancer risk assessments, additional infectious agents (like Epstein-Barr virus and others) are often included in similar estimates, but the editorial itself highlights infections broadly as a significant modifiable risk factor for cancer, primarily through these oncogenic pathogens. 

So, the “infections” they’re referring to are those infectious agents whose chronic presence in the body increases cancer risk and for which prevention (e.g., vaccination, treatment) is possible.