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Age factors

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

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As a general rule, with increasing age there is an increase in the incidence of cancer. This has been attributed to a longer duration for genes to mutate by chance or to be acted upon by carcinogens - a cumulative effect. Examples of cancers which follow this trend are those of the gastrointestinal and urinary tracts.

However, there are some notable exceptions:

  • an early peak in incidence with a rapid decline to minimal levels afterwards:
    • the second most common cause of mortality in the infant and childhood group is cancer, e.g. neuroblastoma and Wilms' tumour, and for these there is usually a strong inherited component
    • seminomas and teratomas peak in incidence before 30 years of age and then fall to minimal incidence
  • osteosarcoma has a bimodal distribution; it is common in adolescence when bone growth is rapid and also after 45 years of age as a consequence of Paget's disease
  • uterine cervical carcinoma arises with increasing frequency in adolescence and then increases relatively slowly in incidence until the menopause when it again declines

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The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

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