Cancer Survivors Pass On Survival Traits to Children
Results of a Swedish study published in the November 2007 issue of The Lancet Oncology show children of parents who survived certain cancers are more likely to survive the disease if it strikes them too.
To arrive at their conclusion, researchers from the Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm Söder Hospital, studied data on over three million families and a million cancer patients. Their investigation revealed that children who had a parent die of breast, colorectal, lung, or prostate cancer within 10 years of diagnosis were significantly more likely to die if they developed the same disease than a child who had a parent survive at least 10 years. The amount of increased risk for the non-survivor child ranged from 39 percent to 107 percent depending on which type of cancer was involved.
The Swedish team attributes the wide difference in survival rates to a combination of genetic and environmental factors, but the statistics strongly suggest cancer survival traits are passed on.
Scientists hope this new information on familial survival rates will be useful to physicians and families who are deciding which form of treatment or prevention is most appropriate.
Source: Reuters
Related Links: breastcancer.org; Seattle Cancer Care Alliance; Medical News TODAY
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