Cancer Causes & Risk Factors

In seconds, the two types of scanners used at more than 100 U.S. airports zap a full-body, naked image of you and --- discovering that you're packing a hip replacement, not a bomb -- send you to your flight. It's far more pleasant than the... Full Answer

If there are risk factors you can change, it makes sense to change them. Of course, there might not be anything one can do to change his genes, race, or age. But people at higher risk can arrange screening tests at more regular intervals or take... Full Answer

The role of refined carbohydrates in the risk of both prostate cancer and breast cancer is less well established. In the Harvard Nurses’ Health Study, no relationship was found among glycemic load, glycemic index, carbohydrate intake, and breast... Full Answer

One of the themes of the book The Spectrum is that what you include in your diet is as important as what you exclude. Several studies have shown that diets high in fruits, vegetables, soy, fiber, lycopene, and omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of both... Full Answer

Although our research focused on prostate cancer, our study may have implications for treating and helping to prevent breast cancer as well. There are many similarities between the two diseases. The risk of both breast cancer and prostate cancer is... Full Answer

A risk factor is anything that affects your chance of getting a disease such as cancer. Different cancers have different risk factors. For example, exposing skin to strong sunlight is a risk factor for skin cancer. Smoking is a risk factor for cancers of... Full Answer

Aspartame is the artificial sweetener in Diet Coke. Arguments about an aspartame-cancer connection have flared for years. Recently, Italian researchers concluded that aspartame does increase certain cancers in rats, including breast cancer. But the... Full Answer

The inflammation resulting from omentum (belly) fat causes dysfunction in the system that protects you from cancer. In fact, there's a direct correlation between waist size and an increased risk of hormonally sensitive tumors, such as breast... Full Answer

The risks of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are increased incidence of breast cancer and uterine cancer while using estrogen. However, when estrogen and progesterone are administered together and in the correct doses, the risk of cancer of the uterus... Full Answer

Methylation is the addition of a simple four-atom molecule (one carbon and three hydrogen atoms, known as a methyl group) to a substance. Modification of our DNA by adding or removing these methyl groups of certain genes is associated with increased risk... Full Answer