- 1 On being a patient
- 2 Modern medicine: foundations, achievements, and limitations
- 3 Global patterns of disease and medical practice
- 4 Cell biology
- 5 Immunological mechanisms
- 6 Principles of clinical oncology
- 6.1 Epidemiology of cancer
- 6.2 The nature and development of cancer
- 6.3 The genetics of inherited cancers
- 6.4 Cancer immunity and clinical oncology
- 6.5 Cancer: clinical features and management
- 6.6 Cancer chemotherapy and radiation therapy
- 7 Infection
- 8 Sexually transmitted diseases and sexual health
- 9 Chemical and physical injuries and environmental factors and disease
- 10 Clinical pharmacology
- 11 Nutrition
- 12 Metabolic disorders
- 13 Endocrine disorders
- 14 Medical disorders in pregnancy
- 15 Gastroenterological disorders
- 16 Cardiovascular disorders
- 17 Critical care medicine
- 18 Respiratory disorders
- 19 Rheumatological disorders
- 20 Disorders of the skeleton
- 21 Disorders of the kidney and urinary tract
- 22 Disorders of the blood
- 23 Disorders of the skin
- 24 Neurological disorders
- 25 The eye
- 26 Psychiatry and drug related problems
- 27 Forensic medicine
- 28 Sports medicine
- 29 Geratology
- 30 Pain
- 31 Palliative medicine
- 32 Biochemistry in medicine
- 33 Acute medicine
(p. 299) Epidemiology of cancer
- Chapter:
- (p. 299) Epidemiology of cancer
- Author(s):
A.J. Swerdlow
, R. Peto
, and Richard S. Doll
- DOI:
- 10.1093/med/9780199204854.003.0601
July 30, 2015: This chapter has been re-evaluated and remains up-to-date. No changes have been necessary.
The epidemiology of cancer is the investigation of the incidence and causes of the disease in people under different conditions of life. Such investigations have generally been the way in which reliable evidence about causal agents for cancer, and the magnitude of the risks from these agents, have been found. They have shown that any type of cancer that is common in one population is rare in some other, and that the differences between populations are mostly not genetic, but rather the consequences of behaviours and circumstances of life. In principle, cancers are therefore largely preventable....
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- 1 On being a patient
- 2 Modern medicine: foundations, achievements, and limitations
- 3 Global patterns of disease and medical practice
- 4 Cell biology
- 5 Immunological mechanisms
- 6 Principles of clinical oncology
- 6.1 Epidemiology of cancer
- 6.2 The nature and development of cancer
- 6.3 The genetics of inherited cancers
- 6.4 Cancer immunity and clinical oncology
- 6.5 Cancer: clinical features and management
- 6.6 Cancer chemotherapy and radiation therapy
- 7 Infection
- 8 Sexually transmitted diseases and sexual health
- 9 Chemical and physical injuries and environmental factors and disease
- 10 Clinical pharmacology
- 11 Nutrition
- 12 Metabolic disorders
- 13 Endocrine disorders
- 14 Medical disorders in pregnancy
- 15 Gastroenterological disorders
- 16 Cardiovascular disorders
- 17 Critical care medicine
- 18 Respiratory disorders
- 19 Rheumatological disorders
- 20 Disorders of the skeleton
- 21 Disorders of the kidney and urinary tract
- 22 Disorders of the blood
- 23 Disorders of the skin
- 24 Neurological disorders
- 25 The eye
- 26 Psychiatry and drug related problems
- 27 Forensic medicine
- 28 Sports medicine
- 29 Geratology
- 30 Pain
- 31 Palliative medicine
- 32 Biochemistry in medicine
- 33 Acute medicine