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Familial risks for nonmedullary thyroid cancer.
Kari Hemminki1, Charis Eng, Bowang Chen
1Division of Molecular Genetic Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center, Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. K.Hemminki@dkfz.de
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
|July 21, 2005
Summary
Familial risk for nonmedullary thyroid cancer is complex. Papillary thyroid cancer shows a higher risk in female relatives, especially sisters, warranting clinical attention.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Genetics
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Familial risk data are crucial for clinical counseling and cancer genetics.
- Understanding familial risks aids in identifying individuals predisposed to specific cancer types.
Purpose of the Study:
- To define histopathology-specific familial risks for nonmedullary thyroid cancers.
- To investigate familial risks using parental and sibling data.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Swedish Family-Cancer Database (10.5 million individuals).
- Analyzed cancer data from the Swedish Cancer Registry (1958-2002).
- Included specific thyroid cancer histologies: papillary, follicular, anaplastic, and Hurthle cell.
Main Results:
- Familial risk for papillary thyroid cancer was 3.21 (parent) and 6.24 (sibling).
- Elevated risk observed in female relatives, particularly sisters (11.19).
- Thyroid adenocarcinoma associated with melanoma, connective tissue tumors, and neurinomas; papillary thyroid cancer linked to colon, breast, ovarian, and kidney cancers.
Conclusions:
- Familial nonmedullary thyroid cancer presents a complex, heterogeneous pattern.
- High familial risk for papillary thyroid cancer in women requires clinical consideration.
- Despite high relative risks, absolute risks for this rare cancer remain low.