Cancer Risk Factors

Cancer prevention traced variety of elements that induce cancer incidence. Cancer risk factors are either identified at an earlier age or preventive stage or during therapeutic improvement stage. Following cancer risk factors shall be discussed in detail.

• Tobacco
• Viruses and infection
• Sunlight exposure
• Diet
• Alcohol consumption
• Occupational exposures
• Radiation

Tobacco

Worst and lethal human carcinogen is identified as smoking of tobacco. Avoiding tobacco smoking reduces maximum cancer fatality rate. Non smoking reduces the chance of fatality from lung cancer, bronchitis, emphysema and other related cancers. Men are more susceptible to cancer when compared to women. Cancers like lung cancer, kidney, renal pelvis, pharynx, larynx, pancreas, bladder, and endometrium cancer arise as a result of tobacco smoking. Addiction to tobacco is tedious. It is predicted dopamine receptor gene is responsible for tobacco addiction. There is multiple numbers of reasons underlying disease causing tobacco addiction. Tobacco smoking correlates gender, age, life style and environment circumstances. Early tobacco smokers are more susceptible to cancer development. Tobacco carcinogens damage DNA and cellular mechanism. Major outcome of tobacco smoking results in lung cancer. Non smokers are likely to develop cancer as the tobacco smoke gets diluted in air. But smokers are at major risk than non smokers.

Viruses and infection

Cancer spread viruses are seen in middle aged peoples. So far five such cancer causing viruses are identified namely

• Human papilloma virus induces cervix cancer in women’s
• Epstein Barr virus induces nasopharyngeal cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma and Burkitt lymphoma
• Human T- lymphotropic virus (Type I) – HLTV I induces non Hodgkin lymphoma and adult T cell leukemia
• Hepatitis B & C induces primary liver cancer
• Human sarcoma virus 8 (HHV 8) induces non Hodgkin lymphoma and Kaposi’s sarcoma

Sunlight exposure

Exposure to solar radiations and UV rays induces skin cancer. UVA damages DNA and breaks DNA strands; UVB predisposes p53 mutation hotspots. Migrants may not be comfortable with solar radiation exposure and develop skin cancer as a result. The risk of skin cancer is associated with gender, age, life style, environmental exposures and genetic traits. Sunlight exposure induces melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell cancer and skin lesions. Variations in skin cancer can be predicted by studying exposure pattern and accumulated exposure risk

Diet

Food intake and diet plays a major role in cancer fatality.  Nutritional epidemiology predicts dietary intake reduces the chance of breast cancer. Other related cancers of dietary risk are gastric, lung, oral, pancreatic, bladder, esophageal and laryngeal cancers. Proper nutrition and diet control the risk of cancer.

Alcohol consumption

Alcohol consumption by smokers induces almost cancers like oral, cavity, pharynx, and esophagus and larynx cancer. Effect of alcohol consuming is directly linked to tobacco consumption. Possible physical damages of alcohol consumption are liver cancer. Moderate consumption of alcohol induces prostrate cancer.

Occupational exposure

Epidemiologic research shows that occupational carcinogens like asbestos fiber, dioxins, vinyl chloride and manufacturing industries induce hepatic cancer. Duration of exposure to carcinogens is a major concept of occupational cancer.

Radiation

Radiation can damage the DNA and break the DNA strands by interacting with free radicals. The types of cancer associated with ionizing radiations are leukemia, breast cancer, lung cancer and thyroid cancer.    

Questions:

• How hereditary pose a threat of cancer risk?
• What are the responsible cancer risk factors?
• Briefly describe some occupational carcinogens.
• What are early stages of cancer risk?