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 August 2018.
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.
Backes DM, Kurman RJ, Pimenta JM, et al. Systematic review of human papillomavirus prevalence in invasive penile cancer. Cancer Causes Control. 2009 May;20(4):449-57.
Miralles-Guri C, Bruni L, Cubilla AL, et al. Human papillomavirus prevalence and type distribution in penile carcinoma. J Clin Pathol. 2009 Oct;62(10):870-8.
Saraiya M, Unger ER, Thompson TD, et al. US assessment of HPV types in cancers: implications for current and 9-valent HPV vaccines. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2015 Apr 29;107(6):djv086.
Grulich AE, van Leeuwen MT, Falster MO, et al. Incidence of cancers in people with HIV/AIDS compared with immunosuppressed transplant recipients: a meta-analysis Lancet 2007;370(9581):59-67.
Olesen TB, Munk C, Christensen J, et al. Human papillomavirus prevalence among men in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sex Transm Infect. 2014 Sep;90(6):455-62.
Madsen BS, van den Brule AJ, Jensen HL, et al. Risk factors for squamous cell carcinoma of the penis--population-based case-control study in Denmark. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2008 Oct;17(10):2683-91.
Tsen HF, Morgenstern H, Mack T, et al. Risk factors for penile cancer: results of a population-based case-control study in Los Angeles County (United States). Cancer Causes Control. 2001 Apr;12(3):267-77.
Brinton LA, Li JY, Rong SD, Huang S, et al. Risk factors for penile cancer: results from a case-control study in China. Int J Cancer. 1991 Feb 20;47(4):504-9.
Daling JR, Madeleine MM, Johnson LG, et al. Penile cancer: importance of circumcision, human papillomavirus and smoking in in situ and invasive disease. Int J Cancer. 2005 Sep 10;116(4):606-16.
Larke NL, Thomas SL, dos Santos Silva I, et al. Male circumcision and penile cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Cancer Causes Control. 2011 Aug;22(8):1097-110. doi: 10.1007/s10552-011-9785-9.
