Cancer Risk Among Older Adults: Time for Cancer Prevention to Go Silver

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Mary White, Emory University; Dawn M. Holman, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Richard Goodman, Emory University; Lisa C. Richardson, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Language: English
• Date: 2019-06-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP): Policy B - Oxford Open Option D
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2019 Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America 2019.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnz038
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Gerontologist
• ISSN: 0016-9013
• Volume: 59
• Issue: Suppl 1
• Start Page: S1
• End Page: S6
• Grant/Funding Information: Publication of this article was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under contract number: 75D30118P00741.; This paper was published as part of a supplement sponsored and funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Keywords: Cancer causes; Community health; UNITED-STATES; Gerontology; Science & Technology; Geriatrics & Gerontology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Cancer incidence; Preventive healthcare; FUTURE
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Oncology; Health Sciences, Public Health; Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery

Abstract

Over two-thirds of all new cancers are diagnosed among adults aged ≥60 years. As the number of adults living to older ages continues to increase, so too will the number of new cancer cases. Can we do more as a society to reduce cancer risk and preserve health as adults enter their 60s, 70s, and beyond? Cancer development is a multi-step process involving a combination of factors. Each cancer risk factor represents a component of cancer causation, and opportunities to prevent cancer may exist at any time up to the final component, even years after the first. The characteristics of the community in which one lives often shape cancer risk-related behaviors and exposures over time, making communities an ideal setting for efforts to reduce cancer risk at a population level. A comprehensive approach to cancer prevention at older ages would lower exposures to known causes of cancer, promote healthy social and physical environments, expand the appropriate use of clinical preventive services, and engage older adults in these efforts. The collection of articles in this supplement provide innovative insights for exciting new directions in research and practice to expand cancer prevention efforts for older adults. This brief commentary sets the stage for the papers that follow.