| ■ Cancer Risk Decreases After Age 80, Study Says | 2008.08.25 |
| The risk of most cancers decreases after age 80, according to a Harvard University study. While previous research has linked old age with increased cancer risk, study lead author Richard Wilson and colleagues found that rates of nearly all cancers peak at age 80 and the rates drop toward zero as people approach the end of their lives, United Press International reported. There are a number of reasons why people are less likely to develop cancer after age 80, Wilson said. They include: diet changes that result in a reduction of dietary carcinogens; decreased use of substances such as tobacco and alcohol; fewer occupational exposures to carcinogens; and less body weight, which may have an effect on several types of cancers. The study is published in the American Association for Cancer Research journal. |