Association between lung cancer incidence and family history of lung cancer: data from a large-scale population-based cohort study, the JPHC study.
OBJECTIVE
To clarify the possibility of a hereditary predisposition to lung cancer, we investigated the association between a family history of lung cancer and subsequent risk of lung cancer in a large-scale, population-based cohort study.


METHODS
We investigated 102,255 middle-aged and older Japanese subjects (48,834 men and 53,421 women) with 13-year follow-up. A total of 791 cases of lung cancer were newly diagnosed during the follow-up period.


RESULTS
A family history of lung cancer in a first-degree relative was associated with a significantly increased risk of lung cancer (hazard ratio [HR], 1.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.31 to 2.88). The association was stronger in women than in men (HR, 2.65; 95% CI, 1.40 to 5.01 and HR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.03 to 2.78, respectively), and in never-smokers than in current smokers (HR, 2.48; 95% CI, 1.27 to 4.84 and HR, 1.73; 95% CI, 0.99 to 3.00, respectively). In addition, family history was more strongly associated with the risk of squamous cell carcinoma than with other histologic types (HR, 2.79; 95% CI, 1.37 to 5.68), while no clear increase in risk was observed in adenocarcinoma and small cell carcinoma. A family history of overall cancer was not associated with an increased risk of lung cancer.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that those with a family history of lung cancer are more likely to acquire lung cancer themselves.
Nitadori
Jun-Ichi
J
Epidemiology and Prevention Division, Research Center for Cancer Prevention and Screening, National Cancer Center, 5-1-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0045 Japan.
Inoue
Manami
M
Iwasaki
Motoki
M
Otani
Tetsuya
T
Sasazuki
Shizuka
S
Nagai
Kanji
K
Tsugane
Shoichiro
S
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*; D000328:Adult; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007564:Japan; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000453:epidemiology; D013223:Statistics as Topic