Age distribution and a multi-stage theory of carcinogenesis: 70 years on

ABSTRACT The Armitage Doll model demonstrates that the impact of age-dependent exposure to carcinogenic factors depends on whether the induced change occurs early, at the midpoint or late in

carcinogenesis. 70 years on, updated modelling shows that their epidemiological observations still provide insight into clinical observations and their underlying molecular mechanisms.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study represents independent research supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at The Royal Marsden NHS

Foundation Trust and the Institute of Cancer Research, London. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social

Care. AW acknowledges funding from the RMH/ICR Cancer Research UK RadNet Centre. AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Division of Radiotherapy and Imaging, The Institute of Cancer

Research, London, UK Anna Wilkins * The Royal Marsden Hospitals NHS Trust, London, UK Anna Wilkins & Rosalind Eeles * Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London,

UK Richard Corbett * Division of Genetics and Epidemiology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK Rosalind Eeles Authors * Anna Wilkins View author publications You can also search

for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Richard Corbett View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Rosalind Eeles View author publications You

can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CONTRIBUTIONS AW, RC and RE planned the commentary. AW and RC drafted the original manuscript and RE reviewed and edited the

manuscript. All authors agreed to submission of the final version. CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Anna Wilkins. ETHICS DECLARATIONS COMPETING INTERESTS The authors declare no

competing interests. ETHICS APPROVAL All analysis in this manuscript is on UK publically-available data as referenced. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PUBLISHER’S NOTE Springer Nature remains neutral

with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Wilkins, A.,

Corbett, R. & Eeles, R. Age distribution and a multi-stage theory of carcinogenesis: 70 years on. _Br J Cancer_ 128, 404–406 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-022-02009-9 Download

citation * Received: 14 September 2022 * Revised: 28 September 2022 * Accepted: 30 September 2022 * Published: 28 October 2022 * Issue Date: 02 February 2023 * DOI:

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