History of upper gastrointestinal cancers in relatives: a community-based estimate

The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of positive family history of these cancers in a large population-based sample of Tehran province, capital of Iran.

Upper gastrointestinal (UGI) cancers (gastric and esophagus cancer) constitute a major health problem worldwide. A family history of cancer can increase the risk for developing cancer and recognized as one of the most important risk factors in predicting personal cancer risk.

This study designed as a cross-sectional survey in general population (2006-2007) of Tehran province. Totally 7,300 persons (age > = 20 years) sampled by random sampling on the basis of the list of postal, of whom 6,700 persons agreed to participate (response rate 92%). Respondents were asked if any first-degree (FDR) or second-degree (SDR) relatives had gastric or esophageal cancer.

Totally, 6,453 respondents (48% male) entered to the study. The mean age of responders with positive FH was significantly higher than those with negative FH (P < 0.05). In total, 341 respondents (5.3%) reporting a history of UGI cancers in their relatives, 134(2.1%) in FDRs, and 207(3.2%) in SDRs.

Our findings showed that the reported prevalence of FH of UGI cancers was relatively low and varied by specific respondent characteristics such as age and sex. However, the estimates of prevalence presented here are likely to be conservative compared with actual prevalence because of self-reported data gathering.