Skip to main content
An official website of the United States government

Risk Assessment Tools and Methods

DCEG investigators regularly develop tools to predict risk of developing cancer. Many of these models are used in clinical settings to manage patient care, or assign patients to appropriate cancer screening.

  • Breast Cancer Risk Assessment tool (BCRAT)
    The BCRAT (Gail et al., 1989) estimates a woman's risk of developing invasive breast cancer. Since its original publication, the tool has been updated and expanded. It is widely used by clinicians and researchers. The Food and Drug Administration guidelines rely on the tool for the recommendation of use of tamoxifen and raloxifene for breast cancer risk reduction.
  • Colorectal Cancer RiskTool (CCRAT)
    The CCRAT is a tool for health care providers to estimate a patient's risk of developing colorectal cancer. CCRAT is available as a SAS Macro or a Gauss Program.
  • Lung Cancer Risk Assessment Tool
    The Lung Cancer Risk Assessment Tool (Katki 2016) estimates lung cancer risk for current and former smokers who may consider undergoing lung cancer screening to prevent lung cancer death. Read more about enhanced risk-based lung cancer screening.
  • Melanoma Risk Assessment tool (MRAT)
    The MRAT estimates an individual's risk of developing melanoma (Tucker et al., 2002; Fears et al., 2006)
  • Moles to Melanoma Online Tool
    Moles to Melanoma helps health care providers, patients, and others recognize common moles, dysplastic nevi (precursor lesions that may develop into melanoma), and melanomas by presenting case study photographs of lesions as they change over time.
Email