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.
Sasieni P, Shelton J, Ormiston-Smith N, et al. What is the lifetime risk of developing cancer?: The effect of adjusting for multiple primaries. Brit J Cancer 2011;105(3):460-5
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.
Lauby-Secretan B, Scoccianti C, Loomis D, et al. Body Fatness and Cancer--Viewpoint of the IARC Working Group. N Engl J Med. 2016 Aug 25;375(8):794-8.
Sergentanis TN, Tsivgoulis G, Perlepe C, et al. Obesity and Risk for Brain/CNS Tumors, Gliomas and Meningiomas: A Meta-Analysis. PLoS One. 2015 Sep 2;10(9):e0136974.
Georgakis MK, Kalogirou EI, Liaskas A, et al. Anthropometrics at birth and risk of a primary central nervous system tumour: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Cancer. 2017 Apr;75:117-131.
Hemminki K, Tretli S, Olsen JH, et al. Familial risks in nervous system tumours: joint Nordic study. Br J Cancer 2010; 102(12):1786-90.
Hemminki K, Tretli S, Sundquist J, et al. Familial risks in nervous-system tumours: a histology-specific analysis from Sweden and Norway. Lancet Oncol 2009; 10(5):481-88.
Scheurer ME, Etzel CJ, Liu M, et al. Familial aggregation of glioma: a pooled analysis. Am J Epidemiol 2010; 172(10):1099-107.
Evans DG, Howard E, Giblin C, et al. Birth incidence and prevalence of tumor-prone syndromes: Estimates from a UK family genetic register service. Am J Med Genet A 2010; 152A(2):327-32.
Walker L, Thompson D, Easton D, et al. A prospective study of neurofibromatosis type 1 cancer incidence in the UK. Br J Cancer 2006; 95(2):233-38.
Seminog OO, Goldacre MJ. Risk of benign tumours of nervous system, and of malignant neoplasms, in people with neurofibromatosis: population-based record-linkage study. Br J Cancer 2013 15; 108(1):193-8.
Brems H, Beert E, de Ravel T, et al. Mechanisms in the pathogenesis of malignant tumours in neurofibromatosis type 1. Lancet Oncol 2009; 10(5):508-15.
Asthagiri AR, Parry DM, Butman JA, et al. Neurofibromatosis type 2. Lancet; 373(9679):1974-86.
Devlin LA, Shepherd CH, Crawford H, et al. Tuberous sclerosis complex: clinical features, diagnosis, and prevalence within Northern Ireland. Dev Med Child Neurol 2006; 48(6):495-99.
Hong CH, Darling TN, Lee CH. Prevalence of tuberous sclerosis complex in Taiwan: a national population-based study. Neuroepidemiology 2009; 33(4):335-41.
Adriaensen MEAPM, Schaefer-Prokop CM, Stijnen T, et al. Prevalence of subependymal giant cell tumors in patients with tuberous sclerosis and a review of the literature. Eur J Neurol 2009; 16(6):691-96.
Schneider K, Zelly K, Nicholas KE ,Garber J. Li-Fraumeni Syndrome. GeneReviews™. Seattle (WA): University of Washington, 1999, accessed December 2018 .
Maher ER, Neumann HPH, Richard S. von Hippel-Lindau disease: A clinical and scientific review. Eur J Hum Genet 2011; 19(6):617-23.
Stochholm K, Juul S, Juel K, et al. Prevalence, Incidence, Diagnostic Delay, and Mortality in Turner Syndrome. J Clin Endocr Metab 2006; 91(10):3897-902.
Schoemaker MJ, Swerdlow AJ, Higgins CD, et al. Cancer incidence in women with Turner syndrome in Great Britain: a national cohort study. Lancet Oncol 2008; 9(3):239-46.
Paraf F, Jothy S, Van Meir EG. Brain tumor-polyposis syndrome: two genetic diseases? J Clin Oncol 1997; 15(7):2744-58.
Lo Muzio L. Nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (Gorlin syndrome). Orphanet J Rare Dis 2008; 3:32.
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.
Braganza MZ, Kitahara CM, Berrington de González A, et al. Ionizing radiation and the risk of brain and central nervous system tumors: a systematic review. Neuro-Oncology 2012; 14(11):1316-24.
Pearce MS, Salotti JA, Little MP, et al. Radiation exposure from CT scans in childhood and subsequent risk of leukaemia and brain tumours: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet 2012; 380(9840):499-505.
Huang WY, Muo CH, Lin CY, et al. Paediatric head CT scan and subsequent risk of malignancy and benign brain tumour: a nation-wide population-based cohort study. Br J Cancer. 2014;110(9):2354-60.
Claus EB, Calvocoressi L, Bondy ML, et al. Dental x-rays and risk of meningioma. Cancer 2012; 118(18):4530-37.
Berrington de Gonzalez A, Curtis RE, Kry SF, et al. Proportion of second cancers attributable to radiotherapy treatment in adults: a cohort study in the US SEER cancer registries. Lancet Oncol 2011; 12(4):353-60.
Taylor AJ, Little MP, Winter DL, et al. Population-Based Risks of CNS Tumors in Survivors of Childhood Cancer: The British Childhood Cancer Survivor Study. J Clin Oncol 2010; 28(36):5287-93.
Baan R, Grosse Y, Lauby-Secretan B, et al. Carcinogenicity of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields. Lancet Oncol 2011; 12(7):624-6.
Wang P, Hou C, Li Y, et al. Wireless Phone Use and Risk of Adult Glioma: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis. World Neurosurgery 2018;115:e629-e636.
Prasad M, Kathuria P, Nair P, et al. Mobile phone use and risk of brain tumours: a systematic review of association between study quality, source of funding, and research outcomes. Neurological Sciences 2017;38(5):797-810.
Kheifets L, Ahlbom A, Crespi CM, et al. A Pooled Analysis of Extremely Low-Frequency Magnetic Fields and Childhood Brain Tumors. Am J Epidemiol 2010; 172(7):752-61.
Hauri DD, Spycher B, Huss A, et al. Exposure to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields from broadcast transmitters and risk of childhood cancer: a census-based cohort study. Am J Epidemiol. 2014;179(7):843-51.
Sorahan T. Magnetic fields and brain tumour risks in UK electricity supply workers. Occup Med (Lond). 2014;64(3):157-65.
Koeman T, van den Brandt PA, Slottje P, et al. Occupational extremely low-frequency magnetic field exposure and selected cancer outcomes in a prospective Dutch cohort. Cancer Causes Control. 2014;25(2):203-14.
Brown T, Young C, Rushton L. Occupational cancer in Britain. Remaining cancer sites: brain, bone, soft tissue sarcoma and thyroid. Br J Cancer 2012; 107(S1):S85-S91.
Bondy ML, Scheurer ME, Malmer B, et al. Brain tumor epidemiology: Consensus from the Brain Tumor Epidemiology Consortium. Cancer 2008; 113(S7):1953-68.
