Increased cancer risk for individuals with a family history of prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, and melanoma and their associated screening recommendations and practices

Abstract

Prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, and melanoma are three malignancies that appear to have strong genetic components that can confer additional risk to family members. Screening tools, albeit controversial, are widely available to potentially aide in early diagnosis. Family members are now more attuned to the risks and benefits of cancer screening, thus, it is imperative that physicians understand the screening tools and how to interpret the information they provide. We reviewed the current literature regarding the cancer risks for individuals with a family history of prostate cancer, colon cancer, and melanoma, the current screening recommendations for family members, and actual screening practices of individuals with a family history of these malignancies. This review should serve as a guide for physicians and cancer control planners when advising their patients and the public regarding screening decisions.

Prevalence of Family History of Breast, Colorectal, Prostate, and Lung Cancer in a Population-Based Study

“…the grandfathers) were alive. It is important to ascertain family history in SDR in addition to FDR because, although cancer risk estimation has been based mainly on family history among FDR [8,9], family history among SDR may be informative in cancer risk assessment, particularly for sex-specific cancers, such as breast and prostate.…”

“…We speculate that some of this difference is likely due to different degrees of family history awareness, particularly when it comes to cancer history among SDR. Obtaining an accurate family history, including the age at diagnosis for affected relatives and the exact relationship to the reporting individual, is an important part in accurate risk assessment for several types of cancers [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9] and can lead to adjustments in screening recommendations. Additional studies are needed to evaluate what tools can be used to enhance awareness and promote accurate reporting.…”

“…Approximately 1.44 million new cases of invasive, non-skin cancers are estimated to have occurred in 2008 [1]. Site-specific cancer risk factors are not completely established and vary widely; however, a positive family history is a known risk factor for most malignancies [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. Hereditary cancer syndromes, usually characterized by significant family history, account for only a small percentage of all cancer cases [10].…”

Probability model for estimating colorectal polyp progression rates

“…Hence, we used the statistics in [21], which presents age-based data of patients undergoing polyp detection and removal at the Rochester Methodist Hospital, Rochester, Minnesota. It has also been observed in the literature that a family history of CRC increases the risk of developing CRC [21,22]. Therefore, we considered population specific incidence rates, which we estimated as follows.…”

Guia de Practica Clinica. Prevencion del Cancer Colorrectal. Actualizacion 2009

“…Los pacientes con CCR a menudo presentan antecedentes familiares de CCR, habitualmente sin llegar a cumplir los criterios de las formas hereditarias (poliposis colorrectales y síndrome de Lynch) 314 . El CCR familiar comparte factores de riesgo gen etico no identificados y ambientales entre los miembros de una familia.…”