Characteristic patterns of cancer incidence: Epidemiological data, biological theories, and multistage models.

We investigate and classify several patterns in cancer incidence and relative risk data which persist across different countries and multiple published studies. We then explore biological hypotheses as well as many mathematical models in the literature that attempt to explain these patterns. A general modeling framework is presented which is general enough to model most of observed behaviors. It is our belief that this model has sufficient flexibility to be adapted to new information as it is discovered. As one application of this framework, we give a model for the effect of aging on the process of carcinogenesis.