B9 Cancer Epidemiology Flashcards
Define incidence
the number of new cases of a disease that occur during a specific time period in a defined population
Define prevalence
the number of ongoing cases of disease in a population at a specific point
What is the risk in males and females of developing cancer before the age of 75?
Males - 21%
Females - 17%
What is the risk of dying from cancer before age of 75 for males and females?
Males -13%
Females 9%
What are the top 3 most common cancers worldwide?
- Lung
- Breast
- Bowel/colorectal
What are the top 3 most common cancers in FEMALES?
- Breast
- Lung
- Bowel
What are the top 3 most common cancers in MALES?
- Prostate
- lung
- Bowel
What is meant by (environmental) risk transition?
the process by which traditional communities with associated environmental health issues become more economically developed and experience new health issues. - e.g. developed countries have higher incident of colorectal cancer probably due to diet change
Name some of the reasons why cancer is more prevalent in developed countries
Ageing population due to:
- improvements in medical care
- public health interventions (e.g. vaccination, clean water)
Name the top 3 cancers that have the highest 10yr survival rates
- Testicular cancer
- malignant melanoma
- Prostate
Name the top 3 cancers that have the highest 5yr survival rate
- testicular cancer
- malignant melanoma
- breast cancer
Name the 3 cancers with the lowest 10 yr survival rate
- Pancreatic cancer (lowerst)
- lung cancer
- Brain tumours/oesophageal cancer
what percentage of children diagnosed with childhood cancers are likely to survive more than 5yrs?
85%
Rougley how many cases of childhood cancer are diagnosed in UK each year
~1,400
<1% of total malignancies
What are the 3 most common cancers children get?
- leukaemias
- Brain and CNS tumours
- Lymphomas
Is survival of childhood cancer generally better or worse than adult cancers?
Better
How can descriptive epidemiology help to work out what causes childhood cancer?
Help identify global differences in incidence patterns to aid in identifying causes.
What are some known causes of cancer?
- infections (HPV, H.pylori, HIV, EBV)
- Radiation
- Lifestyle (diet, obesity, alcohol, tobacco)
- occupational
- hormonal
- genetics
What cancer canHep B virus cause?
Liver cancer
What percentage of cancers is tobacco associated with?
50-60%
What cancers is smoking/tobacco causally linked to?
lung, upper resp. tract, oesphagus, bladder, pancreas
one genetic mutation contributes what percentage to cancer incidence?
0.1% or less
What are susceptibility genes?
genetic variants that make an individual more susceptibe to certain types of cancer
What is the aim of primary prevention
to reduce exposure to carcinogens - Legal and lifestyle changes
What is the aim of secondary prevention
Aims to identify those with pre-clinical disease to influence progression of disease- e.g. screening
What is tertiary prevention?
Aims to modify the outcomes of disease - improve treatments and improve quality of life
