Cancer risk assessment for the primary care physician.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Cancer risk assessment can be divided into two major categories: assessment of familial or genetic risk and assessment of environmental factors that may be causally related to cancer. Identification of individuals with a suspected heritable cancer syndrome can lead to additional evaluation and to interventions that can substantially decrease cancer risk. Special attention should also be paid to potentially modifiable cancer risk factors in the course of advising primary care patients regarding a healthy lifestyle. Clinical guidelines, targeting both genetic and modifiable cancer risk factors, are available and can facilitate the application of these health care principles in the primary care setting.