RISK FACTORS OF VARIOUS MALIGNANCIES AND RELATIVE FREQUENCIES: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Objectives: The existing study aims to explore the relative frequencies of various malignancies and the common risk factors predisposing to malignancies. Methods: The study was conducted for 2 months i.e. from August to September 2019, at Jinnah Hospital, Lahore. This was a cross sectional study in which the participants were selected through non-probability purposive sampling technique and the criteria of selection was being diagnosed with any malignancy either in present or past. The Participants were interviewed via questionnaire which was translated into local language by the researchers themselves. A sample size of 171 was calculated with help of WHO S.Size software. The data was collected and complied with the help of SPSS 17. Results: Malignancy was most usually associated with Breast in 65 (38%), colon in 17 (9.9%), uterus in 14 (8.18%) and lung and skin in 9 (5.26%) patients that our results showed. The most commonly affected age group was 31-60 years with 111(64.91%) patients of our sample. The risk factors most commonly encountered in the history of these patients were passive smoking in 80 (46.78%), family history in 35 (20.46%), living in industrial area in 22 (12.86%), exposure to industrial chemicals and waste in 16 (9.31%), excessive skin exposure in 14 (8.1%) and exposure to radioactive radiations in 3 (1.75%) participants. In addition to these results, bladder Ca was found to have a significant association with chemical industry and 44.61 % of the Breast CA patients had positive family history. Conclusion: Regarding early diagnosis of malignancies the above results lead us to conclude that more research is needed in this area for the proper guidance of population. Further researches in exploring the significant relations of specific risk factors to certain malignancies must be conducted, so that, the population is aware of the risk factors that need to be investigated. Keywords: Cancer, Malignancy, Relative frequency