A Quick Guide to Cancer Epidemiology

1. Introduction
2. Principles of primary and secondary cancer prevention
2.1 Primary prevention
2.2 Secondary prevention
3. The global burden of neoplasms
4. Distribution, causes and prevention of individual neoplasms
4.1 Cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx
4.2 Cancer of oesophagus
4.3 Cancer of the stomach
4.4 Cancer of the intestine
4.5 Cancer of the liver and biliary tract
4.6 Cancer of the pancreas
4.7 Cancer of the respiratory tract
4.8 Neoplasms of the bone and soft tissues
4.9 Cancer of the skin
4.10 Cancer of the breast
4.11 Cancer of the female genital organs
4.12 Cancer of the male genital organs
4.13 Cancer of the urinary organs
4.14 Cancer of the nervous organs
4.15 Cancer of the endocrine glands
4.16 Neoplasms of the lymphatic and haematopoietic organs
4.17 Childhood and adolescence cancers
5. Overview of the causes of human cancer
5.1 Tobacco smoking
5.2 Dietary factors
5.3 Obesity and physical exercise
5.4 Alcohol drinking
5.5 Infectious agents
5.6 Occupational and pollution
5.7 Reproductive factors and exogenous hormones
5.8 Perinatal and growth factors
5.9 Ionizing and non-ionizing radiation
5.10 Medical procedures and drugs
5.11 Genetic factors
6. Conclusions
7. References

Carlo La Vecchia, MD, MSc is recognized worldwide as a leading authority in cancer etiology and epidemiology. He is Chief of Epidemiology at the Mario Negri Institute in Milan, Italy and on the faculty of Medicine at the University of Milan. Dr. La Vecchia serves as an editor for numerous clinical and epidemiologic journals. He is among the most renowned and productive epidemiologists in the field with over 1,600 peer-reviewed papers in the literature and is among the most highly cited medical researchers in the world, according to ISI HighlyCited.com. Dr. La Vecchia is an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt Medical Center and the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and of Epidemiology at the University of Lausanne, CH. Dr. La Vecchia is a temporary advisor at the International Agency for Research on Cancer IARC/WHO and at the World Health Organization in Geneva.

Paolo Boffetta, MD, is Deputy Director of the Tisch Cancer Institute, Institute for Translational Epidemiology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Dr. Boffetta is known for contributing to the understanding of the role of alcohol and smoking in cancer development. He has published 814 peer-reviewed publications and 54 book chapters.

Stefania Boccia, Ph.D. is Vice Director of the Institute of Hygiene-Department of Public Health at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy. Dr. Boccia is also the Head of Genetic Epidemiology and Public Health Genomics Unit. She has published 73 papers in her scientific career.