Family Risk Not Limited to one Type of Cancer

(20 Minuten, July 26, 2013)

It has been long known that cancer risk factors run in families, however, it was believed that this only concerns cancers at the same site. A large study with 23'000 participants in Switzerland and Italy suggests that cancer cases in the family also increase the risk of close relatives to develop other cancers. Some of the effects might be caused by common environmental factors such as smoking, but study author Eva Negri said: "Our results indicate that there must also be genetic factors in many types of cancer that affect several different organs." The risk seemed to be highest when the cancer was diagnosed in patients aged 60 and under.