title: Clustering of cancer in families of patients with primary lung cancer.
abstract: We have previously shown that patients with a positive family history of lung cancer did not exhibit characteristics expected if the familial association was a surrogate for a genetic mechanism which was absent in those without such a history. In this study, we examine the incidence of cancer (all sites) in two groups of families: (a) those ascertained through a patient with primary lung cancer (n = 359 families) and (b) through a community control subject (n = 234). The index subjects were excluded from all incidence data analyses. Most families (62 vs 57%) reported at least one member with a history of neoplastic disease. Patients' families were more likely to have 2 or more affected members (p less than 0.05), to exhibit a multigenerational pattern (33 vs 24%) and to have a higher risk of multiple tumours (OR = 1.5) in the same individual. However, most of the sites with the highest odds ratios (males, vocal cord/esophagus 8.3; colon/rectum 2.3; lung 1.96; females, pancreas 4.8; vocal/cord esophagus 4.1; lung 1.8) are smoking associated although these were not necessarily the most frequently affected sites. In conclusion, these data support an ecogenetic etiology of cancer within families.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Agricultural Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: McDuffie
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D012307:Risk Factors; D012525:Saskatchewan / Q000453:epidemiology; D012737:Sex Factors