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Colorectal Cancer Resources |
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What Are the Risk Factors for Colorectal Cancer?
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, and smoking is a risk
factor for cancers of the lungs, larynx (voice box), mouth, throat, esophagus,
kidneys, bladder, colon, and several other organs. But risk factors don't tell
us everything. Having a risk factor, or even several risk factors, does not
mean that you will get the disease. And some people who get the disease may not
have any known risk factors. Even if a person with colorectal cancer has a risk
factor, it is often very hard to know how much that risk factor may have
contributed to the cancer.
Researchers have found several risk factors that may increase a person's chance
of developing colorectal polyps or colorectal cancer.
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Age
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Personal history of colorectal polyps or colorectal cancer
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Personal history of inflammatory bowel disease
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Family history of colorectal cancer
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Inherited syndromes
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Hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer (HNPCC
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Turcot syndrome
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Peutz-Jeghers syndrome
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Racial and ethnic background
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Lifestyle-related factors
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Certain types of diets
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Physical inactivity
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Obesity
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Smoking
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Heavy alcohol use
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Type 2 diabetes
Click link below to read more of the American Cancer Society’s Detailed Guide:
Colon and Rectum Cancer
View other Colorectal Cancer Resources at the following
links:
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