Clustering of cancer among families of cases with Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL), Multiple Myeloma (MM), Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL), Soft Tissue Sarcoma (STS) and control subjects

BMC Cancer, Feb 2009

Background A positive family history of chronic diseases including cancer can be used as an index of genetic and shared environmental influences. The tumours studied have several putative risk factors in common including occupational exposure to certain pesticides and a positive family history of cancer. Methods We conducted population-based studies of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), Multiple Myeloma (MM), non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL), and Soft Tissue Sarcoma (STS) among male incident case and control subjects in six Canadian provinces. The postal questionnaire was used to collect personal demographic data, a medical history, a lifetime occupational history, smoking pattern, and the information on family history of cancer. The family history of cancer was restricted to first degree relatives and included relationship to the index subjects and the types of tumours diagnosed among relatives. The information was collected on 1528 cases (HL (n = 316), MM (n = 342), NHL (n = 513), STS (n = 357)) and 1506 age ± 2 years and province of residence matched control subjects. Conditional logistic regression analyses adjusted for the matching variables were conducted. Results We found that most families were cancer free, and a minority included two or more affected relatives. HL [(ORadj (95% CI) 1.79 (1.33, 2.42)], MM (1.38(1.07, 1.78)), NHL (1.43 (1.15, 1.77)), and STS cases (1.30(1.00, 1.68)) had higher incidence of cancer if any first degree relative was affected with cancer compared to control families. Constructing mutually exclusive categories combining "family history of cancer" (yes, no) and "pesticide exposure ≥10 hours per year" (yes, no) indicated that a positive family history was important for HL (2.25(1.61, 3.15)), and for the combination of the two exposures increased risk for MM (1.69(1.14,2.51)). Also, a positive family history of cancer both with (1.72 (1.21, 2.45)) and without pesticide exposure (1.43(1.12, 1.83)) increased risk of NHL. Conclusion HL, MM, NHL, and STS cases had higher incidence of cancer if any first degree relative affected with cancer compared to control families. A positive family history of cancer and/or shared environmental exposure to agricultural chemicals play an important role in the development of cancer.

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Clustering of cancer among families of cases with Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL), Multiple Myeloma (MM), Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL), Soft Tissue Sarcoma (STS) and control subjects

BMC Cancer Clustering of cancer among families of cases with Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL), Multiple Myeloma (MM), Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL), Soft Tissue Sarcoma (STS) and control subjects Helen H McDuffie 2 Punam Pahwa 0 2 Chandima P Karunanayake 2 John J Spinelli 1 James A Dosman 2 0 Department of Community Health & Epidemiology, University of Saskatchewan , Health Science Building, 107, Wiggins Road , University of Saskatchewan , Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5E5 , Canada 1 Cancer Control Research, British Columbia Cancer Agency , 2-111, 675 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3 , Canada 2 Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture, University of Saskatchewan, Royal University Hospital , 103 Hospital Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 0W8 , Canada Background: A positive family history of chronic diseases including cancer can be used as an index of genetic and shared environmental influences. The tumours studied have several putative risk factors in common including occupational exposure to certain pesticides and a positive family history of cancer. Methods: We conducted population-based studies of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), Multiple Myeloma (MM), non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL), and Soft Tissue Sarcoma (STS) among male incident case and control subjects in six Canadian provinces. The postal questionnaire was used to collect personal demographic data, a medical history, a lifetime occupational history, smoking pattern, and the information on family history of cancer. The family history of cancer was restricted to first degree relatives and included relationship to the index subjects and the types of tumours diagnosed among relatives. The information was collected on 1528 cases (HL (n = 316), MM (n = 342), NHL (n = 513), STS (n = 357)) and 1506 age ± 2 years and province of residence matched control subjects. Conditional logistic regression analyses adjusted for the matching variables were conducted. Results: We found that most families were cancer free, and a minority included two or more affected relatives. HL [(ORadj (95% CI) 1.79 (1.33, 2.42)], MM (1.38(1.07, 1.78)), NHL (1.43 (1.15, 1.77)), and STS cases (1.30(1.00, 1.68)) had higher incidence of cancer if any first degree relative was affected with cancer compared to control families. Constructing mutually exclusive categories combining "family history of cancer" (yes, no) and "pesticide exposure ≥10 hours per year" (yes, no) indicated that a positive family history was important for HL (2.25(1.61, 3.15)), and for the combination of the two exposures increased risk for MM (1.69(1.14,2.51)). Also, a positive family history of cancer both with (1.72 (1.21, 2.45)) and without pesticide exposure (1.43(1.12, 1.83)) increased risk of NHL. Conclusion: HL, MM, NHL, and STS cases had higher incidence of cancer if any first degree relative affected with cancer compared to control families. A positive family history of cancer and/or shared environmental exposure to agricultural chemicals play an important role in the development of cancer. Background At the cellular level, all cancers are genetic [ 1 ]. A positive family history of chronic diseases including cancer can be used as an index of genetic and shared environmental influences [ 2,3 ]. The four types of tumours under investigation (Hodgkin Lymphoma, Multiple Myeloma, NonHodgkin's Lymphoma and Soft Tissue Sarcoma) have several putative risk factors [ 4-63 ] in common, which include occupational exposure to certain chemicals and specific pesticides [ 4-37 ], a positive family history of cancer specifically of the hematopoietic system [ 29,30,37-54 ], a positive personal history of cancer or other diseases, as well as certain types of medical treatments for cancer and personal habits [ 38,55-63 ]. Researchers have stated that more than 80% of human cancers can be attributed to environmental factors [ 2,3,64,65 ]. Inherited and shared environmental influences among family members (such as tobacco smoke, viruses, agricultural chemicals and dusts, animal contact) that contribute to cancer's development can sometimes be delineated by (a) deconstructing the familial pattern of tumour occurrences (parent-offspring versus sibling-sibling), and (b) collecting detailed information of historical exposure by utilizing various methods. Simultaneously, in order to compare the family history of cancer, we conducted population-based case-control studies of Hodgkin Lymphoma, Multiple Myeloma, Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and Soft Tissue Sarcoma among male incident case and control subjects in six Canadian provinces using postal questionnaires in order to compare details of family history of cancer among them. Methods The detailed methodology has been previously published [ 38 ]. Briefly, we contacted male incident cases aged 19 years or older with a first diagnosis of Hodgkin Lymphoma (ICD-9 201), Multiple Myeloma (ICD-9 203), Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (ICD-9 200 or 202), Soft Tissue Sarcoma (ICD-9 code (...truncated)


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Helen H McDuffie, Punam Pahwa, Chandima P Karunanayake, John J Spinelli, James A Dosman. Clustering of cancer among families of cases with Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL), Multiple Myeloma (MM), Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL), Soft Tissue Sarcoma (STS) and control subjects, BMC Cancer, 2009, pp. 70, 9, DOI: 10.1186/1471-2407-9-70