title: History of cancer in first degree relatives of Barrett's esophagus patients: a case-control study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Familial clusters of Barrett's esophagus (BE) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) have been reported. This study evaluates the history of cancer in BE patients families.
  
  
  METHODS
  In two years, patients with BE (272), esophagitis (456) and controls (517) were recruited in 12 Italian Endoscopy Units. Cancer family history in first-degree (FD) relatives was determined by a questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Approximately 53% of BE, 51% of esophagitis, and 48% of controls had at least one relative affected by any type of malignancy. Probands with at least one esophageal or gastric (E/G) cancer-affected relative showed a BE risk which was at least eighty-five percent higher than that of probands without affected relatives. The relative risk of BE was 4.18, 95% CL=0.76-23.04 if a FD relative had early (mean age ≤ 50 years) onset E/G cancer compared to late onset E/G cancer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this sample there was no evidence that a family history of cancer was associated with the diagnosis of BE. An intriguing result was the association between the occurrence of E/G cancers at earlier ages (< 50 years) among BE relatives with respect the control group. This could suggest a genetic contribution in onset of these tumors, but the sample was too small to demonstrate a significant association. Further exploration of family history of E/G cancer and a diagnosis of BE in larger samples is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Digestive Endoscopy, Cancer Institute Giovanni Paolo II, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Ceglie
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Filiberti
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Blanchi
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fontana
authors.forename: Deborah A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.forename: Enzo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grossi
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lacchin
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Matthaeis
authors.forename: Orazio
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ignomirelli
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cappiello
authors.forename: Domenico Della
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Casa
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Foti
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Laterza
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rosati
authors.forename: Vito
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Annese
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Iaquinto
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Conio
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001471:Barrett Esophagus / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004941:Esophagitis / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged