Is lung cancer hereditary?

Some patients often ask doctors whether tumors are hereditary and whether they can be prevented. It is difficult to simply draw a conclusion on this question. A large number of medical practices have found that genetic factors do play a certain role in the occurrence of cancer. Let's learn more about it below.

So, how does the familial hereditary phenomenon of cancer come about? It is currently believed that this may be caused by chromosomal aberration. Each cell of a normal human body has 46 chromosomes. Various carcinogenic factors can cause chromosomal aberration, making the number and shape of chromosomes different from those of normal cells. This chromosomal aberration can sometimes be inherited by offspring, making the next generation likely to develop cancer.

However, people who are likely to develop cancer do not necessarily develop cancer, but they are more likely to develop cancer than ordinary people. In short, cancer and heredity do have a certain relationship. People with a family history of cancer should, on the one hand, realize that they may have a predisposition to cancer due to heredity, but should avoid unnecessary fear; on the other hand, they should pay more attention to cancer prevention and strive for early detection, early diagnosis and early treatment.

Four types of cancer are most likely to be inherited

Professor Wang Mingrong, Vice President of the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and doctoral supervisor: About 10 to 15 percent of cancers are caused by heredity. In epidemiological surveys, there are indeed records of familial cancer. For example, in the 1860s, a French doctor reported that 15 of the 24 women in his family died of cancer, 10 of whom died of breast cancer; and 4 of the 5 children of the second generation of this family died of cancer. And Napoleon's family, his father, grandfather, 3 sisters and 4 brothers, as well as Napoleon himself, all died of stomach cancer.

Although familial cancer can indicate that cancer is hereditary, it does not mean that everyone will inherit it. Genetic studies have found that cancer itself is not hereditary, but what people inherit is the susceptibility to cancer. Most cancers are the result of the interaction between genetic and environmental factors. The common living environment and living habits make families more likely to develop the same cancer. It is now known that some cancers such as colorectal cancer and breast cancer have a hereditary tendency.

Colorectal cancer has a disease called familial adenomatous polyposis, which is very likely to develop into colon cancer. It has been observed that if parents in a family have colon cancer caused by the above disease, their children have a 50% chance of developing the same cancer.

Women whose mothers or sisters have had breast cancer are three times more likely to develop breast cancer than the average woman.

Retinoblastoma is a malignant tumor that often occurs in children. About 1/3 of patients have bilateral disease, and it is dominantly inherited, which means that the disease is seen in several generations of a family.

Lung cancer If a person has a close relative with lung cancer and he smokes, his risk of lung cancer is 14 times higher than the average person.

Treat inherited cancer

Cancer can be avoided as long as we raise awareness of cancer prevention, reduce exposure to carcinogenic factors, and change bad behaviors.