RISK FACTORS
In the Indian subcontinent, the most common risk factor studied was tobacco in gastrointestinal cancers, head and neck cancers, lung cancers, prostate cancer, and urinary tract cancers.[7,8,9]
The estimated risk in male and female cancer patients is 45% and 17% respectively. Papillomavirus in oral cancer is a good example of cultural practices affecting risk factors.[10]
Female is commonly affected by cervical cancer in India and it is the second most common form.[11]
Studies on Tobacco-related cancers are highest in numbers, proportionate to their prevalence but cervix and breast cancers need to be explored for their risk factors as the number of studies for modifiable risk factors for these two cancers are low. The design of the risk factor studies reviewed if lacks any randomized control trials (RCT) and large prospective cohorts. It may be due to the complexity of conducting RCT and high costs. Most of the studies reviewing risk factors have incorporated cross-sectional or case-control study designs for their studies.[12]