Cancer Prevention, Primary

**Semantic type:** Therapeutic or Preventive Procedure

**Definition:** NIH Emphasis Area -- The term "prevention" refers to prophylactic and preventative efforts to achieve a significant reduction in cancer incidence, cancer mortality, and cancer morbidity. "Primary prevention" involves efforts to directly prevent and/or inhibit malignant transformation; to identify, characterize, and manipulate factors that might be effective in achieving that inhibition; and attempts to promote preventative measures, such as appropriate training of scientists and clinicians. Prevention and intervention efforts are biologic activities aimed at the cell - at the genetic and cellular changes that result in the transformation process and that define cancer development