Association between Family History of Cancer and Lung Cancer Risk among Japanese Men and Women

Association between Family History of Cancer and Lung Cancer Risk among Japanese Men and Women

KAORU YOSHIDA,^1,2,3,4 YOKO TAKIZAWA,¹ YOSHIKAZU NISHINO,^4,5 SATOMI TAKAHASHI,⁶ SEIKI KANEMURA,⁴ JUNKO OMORI,² HAJIME KUROSAWA,³ MAKOTO MAEMONDO^7,8 and YUKO MINAMI^1,4,9

¹Division of Community Health, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
²Division of Public Health Nursing, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
³Department of Occupational Health, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
⁴Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention, Miyagi Cancer Center Research Institute, Natori, Miyagi, Japan
⁵Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Kanazawa Medical University, Kahoku-gun, Ishikawa, Japan
⁶Department of Thoracic Surgery, Miyagi Cancer Center Hospital, Natori, Miyagi, Japan
⁷Department of Respiratory Medicine, Miyagi Cancer Center Hospital, Natori, Miyagi, Japan
⁸Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Allergy, and Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Iwate Medical University School of Medicine, Morioka, Iwate, Japan
⁹Center for Preventive Medicine, Osaki Citizen Hospital, Osaki, Miyagi, Japan

Although cigarette smoking is a major risk factor for lung cancer, genetic susceptibility may also affect lung cancer risk. To explore the role of genetic risk, this case-control study investigated the association between family history of cancer at several sites and lung cancer risk. A total of 1,733 lung cancer cases and 6,643 controls were selected from patients aged 30 years and over admitted to a single hospital in Japan between 1997 and 2009. Information on family history of cancer was collected using a self-administered questionnaire and odds ratios (ORs) were estimated by unconditional logistic regression. Family history of lung cancer in first-degree relatives was associated with an increased risk of lung cancer among both sexes. According to histology and type of relatives, a parental history of lung cancer was significantly associated with an increased risk of female adenocarcinoma (OR = 1.72). Stratification by smoking status revealed that this significant positive association in women was limited to ever-smokers (OR = 4.13). In men, a history of lung cancer in siblings was significantly associated with an increased risk of small cell carcinoma (OR = 2.28) and adenocarcinoma (OR = 2.25). Otherwise, positive associations between history of breast (OR = 1.99) and total (OR = 1.71) cancers in siblings and the risk of male adenocarcinoma were observed. These results suggest that inherited genetic susceptibility may contribute to the development of lung cancer. In men, shared exposure to environmental factors among siblings may also be responsible for the increase in lung cancer risk.

keywords —— adenocarcinoma; case-control study; family history; lung cancer; smoking

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Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2019, 247, 99-110

Correspondence: Yuko Minami, Center for Preventive Medicine, Osaki Citizen Hospital, 2-3-15 Senjuji-machi, Furukawa, Osaki, Miyagi 989-6174, Japan.

e-mail: adym@med.tohoku.ac.jp