Familial risk and clustering of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Guangdong, China

Abstract

BACKGROUNDPrevious studies have suggested that genetic susceptibility may play an important role in the etiology of nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC). However, to date, few large‐scale studies have been conducted on familial risk and clustering of NPC in a high‐risk area of China.METHODSIn the current study, 2252 patients with NPC who were treated at the Cancer Center of Sun Yat‐Sen University in Guangdong Province, China, were identified as probands. Family histories of NPC and other malignancies were observed in first‐degree relatives (FDRs) and second‐degree relatives, and other information was obtained through interviews. One thousand nine hundred and three Cantonese families were selected for further investigation. To assess familial aggregation, the authors used standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) to measure the risk of NPC for FDRs and compared the observed number of cases with the number predicted by population‐based frequencies in the Cantonese population of Hong Kong.RESULTSThe current analysis indicated that families with ≥ 3 relatives who had NPC were distributed predominantly among a high‐risk subgroup of the Cantonese population in Guangdong Province and that the frequency of these families was 0.68%. An SIR of 2.09 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.80–2.40) was observed among 13,833 FDRs in the high‐risk subgroup, and a significantly elevated risk for NPC was observed in FDRs of probands with early age of onset (age < 40 years; SIR, 9.01 [95% CI, 6.10–13.30]). Furthermore, decreased risks of hepatic, lung, esophageal, gastric, and breast carcinoma, as well as malignancy of all sites, were observed among FDRs of probands with NPC when Hong Kong and Shanghai populations were used as reference groups.CONCLUSIONSNPC tends to aggregate in Cantonese families in Guangdong Province, and the malignancies in these families appear to be site specific, with no excess of any other malignancy. Cancer 2004. © 2004 American Cancer Society.

Hepatitis B Virus Infection and Risk of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma in Southern China

“…The association was independent of a handful of potential confounders, including age, sex, family history of cancer, cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, liver function, and EBV infection. Furthermore, we confirmed in the present study the previous findings that family history of cancer (35,36) and EBV seropositiveness (37) were both strong risk factors for NPC. Moreover, we for the first time reported that an abnormal ALT concentration might also be associated with a higher risk of NPC.…”

The Enigmatic Epidemiology of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

“…Indeed, in a complex segregation analysis of familial NPC in southern China (268), multiple genetic and environmental factors, rather than a single major susceptibility gene, seemed most likely to explain the observed pattern of inheritance. In epidemiologic studies, the excess risk was generally 4-to 10-fold among individuals with a first-degree relative with NPC, compared with those without a family history (73,137,141,174,180,(269)(270)(271)(272)(273)(274). Risk of cancers of the salivary gland and uterine cervix may also be elevated in family members of NPC cases (257,274).…”

Cancer Susceptibility in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Families—A Population-Based Cohort Study

“…In Taiwan, a nonsignificant increased proportion of virally associated tumors was observed among first-degree relatives of familial cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma compared with relatives of sporadic cases (7). Markedly decreased risks of breast, esophagus, and lung cancers among first-degree relatives to nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients were recently observed in a Chinese study (9); however, this study design had considerable methodologic limitations (10).…”