Talk:Causes of cancer/Archive 1

Recent edit by "86"
I'm not happy about this edit, which leaves the start of the article not making much sense. The previous version, I think adjusted by me following a discussion elsewhere (in which 86 participated as 109), defined "environmental", as used by epidemiologists, as anything not caused by inherited genetics, so including obesity, as well as sporadic "bad luck" cancers. This was supported by the 1st ref (although it comes after that ref, which is of course too old (2008) and I think rather tendentious in implying that all such cancers are preventable), whose use of "environmental" explicitly covers obesity. Now the sum using that definition (90-95 + 5-10 = 100) remains right at the start ("The great majority of cancers, some 90–95% of cases, are due to environmental factors. The remaining 5–10% are due to inherited genetics"), but the definition of "environmental" has been significantly altered, leaving no place in that implied sum for "internal" environmental factors, and "bad luck" ones, which actually represent the majority of cases! We could do with better sources, of course, but either the whole para should be changed, or left.

User:WhatamIdoing, what do you think? Wiki CRUK John (talk) 12:46, 22 January 2015 (UTC)


 * (sorry, just spotted this new thread) I've opened a discussion on the issue at Talk:Cancer. Perhaps better to talk there? I agree this is something we need to get right. For the record, although I did participate in the previous discussion (as 109) I'd just like to say that even after removal of the "environmental disease" claim I've never been altogether comfortable with the content/wording and sourcing. (Briefly, in response to John's point about "bad luck" - I don't think that counts as a *preventable* cause.) 86.134.203.235 (talk) 17:48, 22 January 2015 (UTC)
 * I certainly wasn't suggesting it did! But, yes, at the other place. Wiki CRUK John (talk) 00:08, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

WikiMed Medicine Elective
Hello, fellow Wikipedians!

I am a medical student who will be working to improve this article over the next few weeks as part of an elective. The page is currently rated as a C-class, high-importance article. The article summarizes many of the relevant causes of cancer but I feel there is room for improvement with regards to language, illustrations, overall organization, and current references. I have a career interest in oncology and I am hoping to improve this article to better inform the general public regarding these different causes of cancer.

At this point in the planning stage, I have two main objectives for improving this article. I hope to adjust the language and organization to make the article more accessible to a general audience while maintaining relevant details for students and professionals interested in the topic. I will also do a literature review and update the article with the most recent and relevant references for each section. My projected timeline is below:

(3/4-3/10): establish timeline and work plan, begin reference review

-Posted timeline and work plan to talk page

(3/11-3/17): begin primary structure and language edits, update references, upload illustrations

-Adjusted the order of the different sections based on prevalence/relevance

-Added additional sections and split the physical section into agents and trauma

-Editing phrasing/wording as needed

-Cleaned several older references and added additional references including radiation induced meningiomas and obesity associated liver cancer

-Uploaded a number of illustrations for various sections including asbestos, brain cancer, skin cancer and cervical cancer

(3/18-3/24): seek and respond to peer reviews

(3/25-3/31): finalize secondary edits with regards to peer suggestions

I will continue to update this post over the next few weeks. I look forward to working with anyone who has an interest in improving this article and welcome any recommendations and critiques throughout the process! Chglucas (talk) 04:11, 8 March 2018 (UTC)