[Frequency of Cancer Risk Factors in a Chilean Population]

Cancer is the leading cause of mortality in Chile. Between 30% and 50% of cancers are related to modifiable risk factors. However, there is insufficient evidence on its distribution in the Chilean population.

To estimate the frequency of risk factors for the 3 most important oncological pathologies (breast, lung and CRC) in a healthy population affiliated to the cancer insurance of a private cancer center.

Population-based, cross-sectional study of healthy beneficiaries of cancer insurance at a private cancer center, both sexes, between 40 and 75 years of age during 2021. Data were collected via REDCap® and analyzed in a descriptive and inferential manner, using R v4.04.

2,091 healthy beneficiaries responded to the survey with a gender distribution of 68% women and 32% men. 64% of the participants had a direct family member with a history of some type of cancer, the most prevalent BMI was the overweight range with a frecuency of 46%, 55% performed physical activity at least 1 time/ week and 19% were active smokers. Of the breast cancer survey (n=851), 66% reported having a family history of cancer ok any kind, and 91% had used some form of contraception, 23.6% had a family history of breast cancer, and 9.3% had a family history of ovarian cancer. In colorectal cancer (n=506), 62,8% had relatives cancer of any kind and 14,4% with CRC, 43.5% reported meat consumption and 25.1% consumption of sausages 2-3 times/week. In lung cancer (n=734), 63,1% had a family history of cancer and 13,2% had a family member with lung cancer. In relation to smoking, 14% reported smoking cigarettes at least once a week, however, 71.6% of smokers expressed the desire to quit smoking.

Although these results are still incipient, and not exactly representative of the Chilean population, these are the first data that aim to collect information on specific risk factors associated with 3 different types of cancer. It is essential to know and quantify the risk factors in our population in order to design prevention programs and alleviate the burden of disease that this diagnosis entails in our country.