A study just published finds that most instances of human cancers (about 2/3) are caused by "bad luck" mutations.
A general discussion: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/03/debate-reignites-over-contributions-bad-luck-mutations-cancer
Causes of cancers. (Replicative is "bad luck" mutations)
KEY
B: brain
HN: head and neck
Th: thyroid
NHL: non-Hodskins lymphoma
M: melanoma
E: esophagus
Lu: lungs
Lk: leukemia
Br: breast
Li: liver
K: kidney
S: stomach
CR: colo-rectal
P: pancrease
U: uterus
O: ovary
Bl: bladder
C: cervix
Cancers that are primarily caused by environmental factors (such as sun exposure, asbestos exposure, tobacco use or Human Papilloma Virus infection) appear to be head and neck, skin, esophagus, lungs, stomach and cervix. [These are, of course, the most exposed parts of the human body.] A relatively small number are due to inherited genes. All the rest are mostly random, which may be discouraging, if you're into clean living.
By this theory, the older you get, the greater your total lifetime risk of a "bad luck" mutation.
Bob
A general discussion: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/03/debate-reignites-over-contributions-bad-luck-mutations-cancer
Causes of cancers. (Replicative is "bad luck" mutations)
KEY
B: brain
HN: head and neck
Th: thyroid
NHL: non-Hodskins lymphoma
M: melanoma
E: esophagus
Lu: lungs
Lk: leukemia
Br: breast
Li: liver
K: kidney
S: stomach
CR: colo-rectal
P: pancrease
U: uterus
O: ovary
Bl: bladder
C: cervix
Cancers that are primarily caused by environmental factors (such as sun exposure, asbestos exposure, tobacco use or Human Papilloma Virus infection) appear to be head and neck, skin, esophagus, lungs, stomach and cervix. [These are, of course, the most exposed parts of the human body.] A relatively small number are due to inherited genes. All the rest are mostly random, which may be discouraging, if you're into clean living.
By this theory, the older you get, the greater your total lifetime risk of a "bad luck" mutation.
Bob