Family cancers among cases of primary liver cancer.

Abstract

Residents of Metropolitan Nashville, Tennessee, dying from primary cancer of the liver, as well as those with this disease diagnosed in Nashville hospitals, over a 17-year period along with their age-, sex-, and race-matched controls have had interview data collected to identify background factors. The reported excess of cancer of several types among parents and siblings of hepatoma cases, as compared to controls, has been assessed by death certificate inspection. Contact was made with respondents for 53 cases and 48 controls. Among 319 parents and siblings of patients with hepatomas, 75% either had death certificates located or were known to be living. For 295 parents and siblings of controls, 78% were located. A significant excess of cancers among relatives of those with hepatomas compared to relatives of controls was confirmed by death certificate assessment. Of interest was the finding of four cases of stomach cancer, five of prostate cancer, and six of liver cancer among relatives of hepatoma cases, and no stomach or prostate cancer, and only one case of liver cancer among control relatives.