Prevalence of familial malignancy in a prospectively screened cohort of patients with lymphoproliferative disorders.
Increasing evidence points to a heritable contribution in the development of lymphoma. The goal of this study was to determine the rate of familial lymphoproliferative malignancy among consecutive lymphoma patients presenting to a tertiary care center and to enroll families with multiple affected first-degree relatives on a data and tissue collection study. Beginning in 2004 all new patients presenting to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute with non-Hodgkin (NHL) or Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) or chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) were asked to complete a one-page self-administered family history questionnaire. 55.4% of 1948 evaluable patients reported a first-degree relative with a malignancy, with the highest rate among CLL probands. Lymphoid malignancies were particularly common, with 9.4% of all probands reporting a first-degree relative with a related lymphoproliferative disorder (LPD). This frequency was again highest for CLL, at 13.3% of CLL probands, compared to 8.8% of NHL probands and 5.9% of HL probands (P = 0.002). The prevalence of CLL was significantly increased in parents of CLL probands (P < 0.05), and a greater risk of NHL was seen in fathers of NHL probands than in mothers (P = 0.026). We conclude that familial aggregation of LPDs is common among newly diagnosed patients, varies significantly by diagnosis and contributes meaningfully to the population disease burden.
Brown
Jennifer R
JR
Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA. jbrown2@partners.org
Neuberg
Donna
D
Phillips
Kimberly
K
Reynolds
Hazel
H
Silverstein
Jason
J
Clark
Jennifer C
JC
Ash
Megan
M
Thompson
Christina
C
Fisher
David C
DC
Jacobsen
Eric
E
LaCasce
Ann S
AS
Freedman
Arnold S
AS
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D015451:Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D008404:Massachusetts / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009386:Neoplastic Syndromes, Hereditary / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D015995:Prevalence; D055815:Young Adult