Older age is the main risk factor for cancer. This largely reflects cell DNA damage accumulating over time. Damage can result from biological processes or from exposure to risk factors.
This page covers other factors with the best evidence of an association with cancer risk; this list is not exhaustive.
See our other pages for general information about cancer, or ways to reduce your risk.
View our latest cancer statistics including key stats, in-depth explanations and raw data on cancer incidence, mortality, survival, risk, and diagnosis and treatment.
View full A-Z cancer statisticsSee information and explanations on terminology used for statistics and reporting of cancer, and the methods used to calculate some of our statistics.
Go to local cancer statistics - search profiles by area, constituency or health board in the UK.
Go to devolved nations overview for an overview of Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
You are welcome to reuse this Cancer Research UK content for your own work. Credit us as authors by referencing Cancer Research UK as the primary source. Suggested styles are:
Web content: Cancer Research UK, full URL of the page, Accessed [month] [year].
Publications: Cancer Research UK ([year of publication]), Name of publication, Cancer Research UK.
Graphics (when reused unaltered): Credit: Cancer Research UK.
Graphics (when recreated with differences): Based on a graphic created by Cancer Research UK.
When Cancer Research UK material is used for commercial reasons, we encourage a donation to our life-saving research. Send a cheque payable to Cancer Research UK to: Cancer Research UK, 2 Redman Place, London, E20 1JQ.
Donate onlineStay up to date by signing up to our cancer statistics and intelligence newsletter.
We are grateful to the many organisations across the UK which collect, analyse, and share the data which we use, and to the patients and public who consent for their data to be used.
Find out more about the sources which are essential for our statistics
Lifetime risk estimates calculated by the Cancer Intelligence Team at Cancer Research UK 2023.
Estève J, Benhamou E, Raymond L. Statistical methods in cancer research. Volume IV. Descriptive epidemiology. IARC Sci Publ. 1994;(128):1-302.
Brown KF, Rumgay H, Dunlop C, et al. The fraction of cancer attributable to known risk factors in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the UK overall in 2015 British Journal of Cancer 2018.
International Agency for Research on Cancer. List of Classifications by cancer sites with sufficient or limited evidence in humans, Volumes 1 to 122*. Accessed October 2018.
Brown T, Darnton A, Fortunato L, et al. Occupational cancer in Britain. Respiratory cancer sites: larynx, lung and mesothelioma. Br J Cancer 2012;107 Suppl 1:S56-70.
Goldberg M, Luce D. The health impact of nonoccupational exposure to asbestos: what do we know? Eur J Cancer Prev 2009;18(6):489-503.
Yates DH, Corrin B, Stidolph PN, et al. Malignant mesothelioma in south east England: clinicopathological experience of 272 cases. Thorax 1997;52(6):507-12.
Scherpereel A, Astoul P, Baas P et al. Guidelines of the European Respiratory Society and the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons for the management of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Eur Respir J 2010; 35(3): 479-95.
Frost G. The latency period of mesothelioma among a cohort of British asbestos workers (1978-2005). Br J Cancer 2013;109(7):1965-73.
Harding AH, Darnton AJ. Asbestosis and mesothelioma among British asbestos workers (1971-2005). Am J Ind Med 2010;53(11):1070-80.
Xu R, Barg FK, Emmett EA, Wiebe DJ, Hwang WT. Association between mesothelioma and non-occupational asbestos exposure: systematic review and meta-analysis. Environmental Health. 2018 Dec;17(1):90.
IARC. A Review of Human Carcinogens: Painting, firefighting and shiftwork (98). IARC: Lyon; 2010.
Metintas M, Hillerdal G, Metintas S, et al. Endemic malignant mesothelioma: exposure to erionite is more important than genetic factors. Arch Environ Occup Health 2010;65(2):86-93.
Carbone M, Emri S, Dogan AU, et al. A mesothelioma epidemic in Cappadocia: scientific developments and unexpected social outcomes. Nat Rev Cancer 2007;7(2):147-54.
