title: Cancer risks for relatives of children with cancer.
abstract: We determined the extent and distribution of cancers in relatives of 379 children newly diagnosed with cancer. Family history was collected from 1,337 first-degree and 3,399 second-degree relatives and incidence compared with national age- and gender-specific rates. Overall, 14 children (3.7%) had a relative with a history of childhood cancer and 26 children (6.9%) had a first-degree relative with a history of cancer, with only one of these having an identifiable familial cancer syndrome. There was a higher than expected incidence of childhood cancer among first-degree relatives (parents and siblings) (standardized incidence ratio (SIR) 1.43; 95% CI 0.54-5.08). There was also a higher than expected incidence of adult cancers among first-degree relatives (SIR 1.45; 95% CI 0.93-2.21), particularly in females (SIR 1.82; 95% CI 1.26-3.39). The increased family cancer history in first-degree females was largely attributable to an effect in mothers (SIR 1.78; 95% CI 1.27-3.33). The gender-specific association was reflected in higher than expected incidence rates of breast cancer in both mothers (SIR 1.92; 95% CI 0.72-6.83) and aunts (SIR 1.64; 95% CI 0.98-2.94). These findings support the hypothesis that previously undetected familial cancer syndromes contribute to childhood cancer.
authors.affiliation: Children's Cancer Centre, Royal Children's Hospital, Flemington Road, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia ; Centre for Molecular, Environmental, Genetic and Analytic Epidemiology, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3053, Australia.
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Heath
authors.affiliation: Children's Cancer Centre, Royal Children's Hospital, Flemington Road, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Smibert
authors.affiliation: Children's Cancer Centre, Royal Children's Hospital, Flemington Road, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia ; Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia.
authors.forename: Elizabeth M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Algar
authors.affiliation: Centre for Molecular, Environmental, Genetic and Analytic Epidemiology, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3053, Australia.
authors.forename: Gillian S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Dite
authors.affiliation: Centre for Molecular, Environmental, Genetic and Analytic Epidemiology, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3053, Australia.
authors.forename: John L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Hopper