Lifestyle and individual risk of contracting neoplastic disease: facts and myths concerning the aetiology of cancer

Analysis of mortalities by age group in the USA and Austria revealed that accidents and heart diseases are the most frequent causes of death at ages from one to 59 years, but cancer becomes the leading cause for patients aged 60 to 80 years. These data indicate that cancer is generally an age-associated disease. Thus, the increases in life expectancy and ageing of society in high-income countries seem to correlate with elevated cancer incidence. However, there are very large inter-individual variations in cancer risks and aging, indicating that physiological rather than chronological age plays a key role in cancerogenesis. Interestingly, epidemiological data revealed that cancer incidence rates vary with age, gender, ethnicity, and race, implying that environmental factors and lifestyle are also involved in cancer development. Inappropriate dietary patterns, sedentary lifestyles, obesity, permanent stress, immoderate alcohol and tobacco consumption, and long-term exposure to synthetic hormones are all known cancer risks. There is increasing evidence that lifestyle factors generally play important roles not only in primary cancer prevention but also in the prognosis of diagnosed cancer patients.