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IKNL and the NCR Dutch Cancer Atlas Risk factors

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Risk factors

For most cancer types, the atlas provides an explanation of connected potential risk factors. Scientific research has established that these risk factors increase the risk of developing that specific type of cancer. For some of these factors, such as sun exposure and several lifestyle choices, exposure is (partly) avoidable. Additionally, there are factors over which people have no control, such as genetic factors. Environmental factors, such as air and soil pollution, may also play a role.

For all the risk factors mentioned in the texts, we have consulted scientific sources, including but not limited to:

While someone may have one or more risk factors, this does not necessarily mean they will inevitably develop cancer. Conversely, someone can develop cancer even if they have no (known) factors that increase the risk. Furthermore, it is typically not known in an individual case whether and to what extent a risk factor contributed to the development of cancer. Risk factors mentioned in the text are listed as possible explanations for the variations seen on the maps. In many cases, however, it is not precisely known what causes geographical variation and how much each individual risk factor has contributed.

There also are types of cancer for which we do not describe potential risk factors in the atlas. Those types of cancer show little or no geographical variation. This does not mean that there are no known risk factors for these types of cancer, but rather that the risk factors seem to be equally distributed across the Netherlands and therefore do not play a significant role in geographical variation in that particular cancer type.

There is usually a gap of several decades between exposure to risk factors and a cancer diagnosis. Therefore, the geographical difference in the cancer diagnosis rate of a specific cancer type in the Netherlands will generally be caused by differences in exposure to risk factors in the past. Since people move during their lifetime, the location where someone was exposed to a risk factor may differ from the place where they received their cancer diagnosis. The atlas is compiled based on the postcode at the time of cancer diagnosis and did not take relocation into account.