Q. What causes cancer?
Doctor Answer is medically reviewed by SecondMedic medical review team.
Cancer is an uncontrolled growth of cells that can develop in any part of the body. Although there is no single definitive cause for cancer, many factors are believed to play a role. These include environmental exposures such as smoking, radiation, and other carcinogens; genetic mutations which can occur at conception or be caused by exposure to carcinogens; lifestyle-related factors such as poor diet and lack of physical activity; infections from viruses or bacteria like human papillomavirus (HPV) and Helicobacter pylori (H. Pylori); chronic inflammation; hormone imbalances; certain medications; deficiencies in metabolic pathways due to mitochondrial damage or deregulation of antioxidants metabolism. Furthermore, age has been associated with an elevated risk for certain types of cancer such as lung cancer and breast cancer because the longer we live, the more time our cells have to accumulate DNA damage from environmental exposures like air pollution.
In sum, it is likely that multiple different causes contribute to each individual’s experience with cancer—no two cases are exactly alike. Therefore prevention strategies should consider a variety of risk factors in order to reduce an individual’s chances for developing this disease.