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| From OncoLog,
February 2004, Vol. 49, No. 2 |
|
Cancer Epidemiology, Step-by-Step
| cancer
epidemiology: the
science concerned with the study of the factors determining
and influencing the frequency and distribution of cancer and
its causes in a defined human population for the purpose of
establishing programs to prevent and control cancer development
and spread. |
|
 Epidemiology
is a very important science in cancer research and prevention because
it helps identify people at risk for certain kinds of cancer. But how
do epidemiologists find out which people are at risk, and what is then
done with that information? Below are the steps that epidemiologists follow
to identify these special groups of people and the ways in which their
work benefits everyone.
1. Epidemiologists
start with questions such as the following:
- Are certain cancers
more common?
- Are certain cancers
more common in certain groups of people?
- Are certain cancers
becoming more common?
2. To start
to answer these questions, epidemiologists first look for possible characteristics
that people with certain cancers have in common—characteristics
such as
- Diet
- Lifestyle
- Age
- Ethnic group
- Gender
- Occupation
- Environmental
exposures
- Medical history
- Familial history
of cancer
- Health-care access
and usage
- Genetic factors
- Educational level
- Biological factors
- Geographic factors.
3. Next,
epidemiologists test for the actual presence of the suspected factors
in a large group of people with and without the certain cancer. They do
this by
- Doing surveys
- Having people
fill out questionnaires
- Looking at people’s
medical histories
- Doing laboratory
tests
- Getting family
histories.
4. After
this, epidemiologists look closely at their findings to see if there are
any patterns. They look for characteristics that many of the patients with certain kinds of cancer
do or do not have in common.
5. Once
they have this information, epidemiologists can help
- Develop screening
tests
- Develop information
campaigns targeted to certain groups of people
- Raise public
awareness about certain kinds of high-risk behavior
- Encourage certain
groups of people to get screened regularly for the cancer.
6. The
result?
- Cancers can be
diagnosed at earlier, more treatable, stages.
- Certain cancers
can be prevented.
- People live longer
and better lives!
Epidemiologic
research has benefited us by
- Helping
to identify smoking as a risk factor for lung cancer
- Discovering
that exposure to asbestos is a risk factor for mesothelioma
- Discovering
that people who eat high-fat diets are at risk for uterine cancers
- Finding
that a certain kind of virus infection is associated with a high
risk of cervical cancer
- Finding
that the prostate-specific antigen level could be used to identify
men with prostate cancer
- Finding
that women with certain mutated genes were at very high risk for
breast cancer
- Finding
that cancers are found at later stages in people who have poor
access to health care.
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For
more information on this topic or for questions about M. D. Anderson’s treatments,
programs, or services, call askMDAnderson at (877) MDA-6789.
Other articles in
OncoLog, February 2004 issue:
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