Monitoring Risk & Health Behaviors

A major aspect in NCI's mission in cancer prevention and control is monitoring the influence of individual and societal risk factors and health behaviors that mediate cancer incidence, morbidity, mortality, and survival, both directly and indirectly. These risk factors include tobacco use; diet; weight, height, and related measures; physical activity; genetics and family history; and sun exposure. Individualized risk assessment, biomarkers, and pharmacovigilance are additional topics of importance in this area of cancer control research. To fulfill this mission, the Applied Research Program supports surveys designed to assess the prevalence of these risk factors and conducts research to develop methods that can improve their assessment.

To learn more about what the program is supporting in these areas of research, see the Risk Factor Monitoring and Methods Branch.