Cancer Epidemiology Flashcards
What is the highest global cause of death?
Ischaemic heart disease and stroke
How have death rates from CVS changed over the years?
Decreased
How have death rates from Cancer changed over the years?
Remained stable, increased slightly
Compare the incidence of cancer in developed and undeveloped countries
Developed countries have a greater incidence of cancer
What are the most common cancers in males?
Prostate and lung cancers
What are the most common cancers in females?
Breast and cervix uteri cancers
Describe an example of geographical variation in cancer incidence
Melanoma most common in AUS/NZ and Colorectal most common in Japan
Give a possible reason for the increase incidence in common cancers?
Rapid increase in incidence followed by plateau in high income countries due to introduction of screening procedures
Compare the rates of mortality in high income vs low income countries
Mortality decreasing in high income countries but NOT low income
Is the total burden of cancer increasing or decreasing?
Increasing
What do very rapid changes in cancer incidence imply?
Cannot have been genetic changes
What percentage of cancer have a hereditary inclination
5-10%
Describe the effect of smoking on cancer death and risks
30% of call cancer deaths
Increases risk of more than 15 cancers
90% of men and 80% of lung cancer deaths
Give some examples of hereditary cancers
Hereditary retinoblastoma- Retinoblastoma
Xeroderma pigmentosum- Skin cancer
Wilms tumour- Kidney cancer
Li-Fraumeni syndrome- Sarcomas, brain, breast, leukaemia
Familial adenomatous polyposis- Colon, rectum cancers
Pagets disease- Bone cancer
Franconis’s aplastic anaemia- Leukaemia, liver, skin
Give an example of how diet is linked to cancer
Colorectal cancer increased with low fibrous diet
How is alcohol linked to cancer?
Synergistic with tobacco
Associated with liver, oral cavity, pharynx, larynx and oesophageal cancer
Has a PREVENTATIVE effect for CHD in moderation
What is anthropometry?
Study of measurements and proportions of the human body
What are the World Cancer Research fund guidelines for dietary prevention?
- Be lean without being overweight
- Physically active for at least 30 mins a day
- Avoid sugary drinks
- Eat a variety of fruit and veg
- Limit consumption of red meat max 500g a week
- Limit alcoholic drinks
- Limit consumption of salty foods
What effect do sex steroids have in cancer?
Increase breast cancer risk
What percentage of cancer is from an infectious cause?
16%
25% in Africa, <10% in Eu, 1 in 33 in UK
Give examples of cancers linked to infections
- HPV- cervix cancer
- EBV- hodgkin/burkitt’s lymphoma
- HCV/HBV liver cancer
- H.pylori- stomach cancer
Approximately how many new cases of cancer are there yearly?
14 million
Approximately how many people will cancer kill yearly?
8 million
Approximately how many people are living with cancer worldwide?
33 million
What are the five major forms of cancer contributing to worldwide mortality?
- Lung
- Stomach
- Liver
- Colorectal
- Breast
