Elderly may flag up family cancer warning

Friday December 21st, 2012

Most cancer runs in families - even when it takes a lifetime to emerge, according to a major European study published today.

As projections suggest the lifetime risk of contracting the disease is approaching 50%, the new findings suggest that elderly people diagnosed with cancer may still be victims of a genetic trait within their families.

Researchers found that these patients, in their 80s and 90s, had an increased risk of having offspring who developed the same cancer - before the age of 77.

The biggest increased risk was linked to men developing prostate cancer - with a 30% increase.

Among women, there was an 8.8% increased risk of developing breast cancer.

Smaller - but "significant" - increases in risk were found for cancers of the lung, bowels, bladder and skin.

The findings come from a study involving nearly 8,000,000 people on a family cancer database in Sweden, analysed by Lund University, Sweden, and the German Cancer Research Centre, Heidelberg, Germany.

The researchers say they could not find evidence that non-genetic factors were responsible for the increased risks.

But they argue that by recognising the risks, younger generations can take steps to avoid cancers to which they might be vulnerable.

Writing in the British Medical Journal Elham Kharazmi, of the German Cancer Research Centre, says "family members (in particular offspring) may benefit from knowing that they're at increased risk of a particular cancer because it allows them to avoid known modifiable risk factors for that cancer."

BMJ December 21 2012

Tags: Cancer | Elderly Health | Europe | Genetics

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