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Appendix Cancer Prevention

While researchers are still trying to determine what causes appendix cancer, following general cancer prevention advice may lower your risk for the disease.

Preventing Appendix Cancer

Appendix cancer is rare, with fewer than 1,000 cases diagnosed each year in the United States. That’s significantly fewer than one person per million.

Appendix Cancer Risk Factors

Researchers are still trying to determine what causes appendiceal cancers and establish appendix cancer prevention guidelines. So far, they’ve uncovered only a few known risk factors, including:

  • Age. Risk of developing appendix cancer increases with age. It’s extremely uncommon in young people with most diagnoses occurring in individuals between ages 50 and 55.
  • Sex. Appendix cancer appears to be more common in women, although we do not know why.
  • Personal history. Appendix cancer recurrence is common. If you’ve been diagnosed with the disease once, you’re more likely to get it again.

Appendix cancer does not appear to be hereditary, meaning it’s not known to run in families. However, further research is needed to confirm this and to identify other possible risk factors.

How to Prevent Appendix Cancer

While we don’t know exactly what causes appendiceal cancer and therefore can’t make specific recommendations on how to prevent it, it’s always a good idea to take steps to modify your lifestyle in ways that lower your overall risk of cancer. The following guidelines may be important for appendix cancer prevention.

  • Not using any tobacco products
  • Not drinking alcohol
  • Maintaining a body mass index below 25
  • Being physically active every day
  • Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in processed meats

Researching Appendix Cancer Prevention

Winship is dedicated to curing cancer through its tireless research to improve the ways the world prevents, detects, diagnoses, treats and survives all types of cancer, including appendiceal cancer. That’s why Winship is involved in research to better understand why cancer of the appendix develops and to discover new ways to prevent it.