Skip to main content
PMC home page
British Journal of Cancer logoLink to British Journal of Cancer
. 1997;75(9):1381–1384. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1997.234

Risk factors for colorectal cancer in subjects with family history of the disease.

E Fernandez 1, C La Vecchia 1, B D'Avanzo 1, E Negri 1, S Franceschi 1
PMCID: PMC2228225  PMID: 9155063

Abstract

The relationship between lifestyle factors, past medical conditions, daily meal frequency, diet and the risk of 'familial' colorectal cancer has been analysed using data from a case-control study conducted in northern Italy. A total of 1584 colorectal cancer patients and 2879 control subjects were admitted to a network of hospitals in the Greater Milan area and the Pordenone province. The subjects included for analysis were the 112 cases and the 108 control subjects who reported a family history of colorectal cancer in first-degree relatives. Colorectal cancer cases and control subjects with family history were similarly distributed according to sex, age, marital status, years of schooling and social class. Familial colorectal cancer was associated with meal frequency, medical history of diabetes (relative risk, RR = 4.6) and cholelithiasis (RR = 5.2). Significant positive trends of increasing risk with more frequent consumption were observed for pasta (RR = 2.5, for the highest vs the lowest intake tertile), pastries (RR = 2.4), red meat (RR = 2.9), canned meat (RR = 1.9), cheese (RR = 3.5) and butter (RR = 1.9). Significant inverse associations and trends in risk were observed for consumption of poultry (RR = 0.4), tomatoes (RR = 0.2), peppers (RR = 0.3) and lettuce (RR = 0.3). Significant inverse trends in risk with increasing consumption for beta-carotene and ascorbic acid were observed (RR = 0.5 and 0.4 respectively, highest vs lowest intake tertile). These results suggest that risk factors for subjects with a family history of colorectal cancer in first-degree relatives are not appreciably different from recognized risk factors of the disease in the general population.

Full text

PDF
1382

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bidoli E., Franceschi S., Talamini R., Barra S., La Vecchia C. Food consumption and cancer of the colon and rectum in north-eastern Italy. Int J Cancer. 1992 Jan 21;50(2):223–229. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910500211. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bonelli L., Martines H., Conio M., Bruzzi P., Aste H. Family history of colorectal cancer as a risk factor for benign and malignant tumours of the large bowel. A case-control study. Int J Cancer. 1988 Apr 15;41(4):513–517. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910410407. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Burt R. W., Bishop D. T., Cannon-Albright L., Samowitz W. S., Lee R. L., DiSario J. A., Skolnick M. H. Population genetics of colonic cancer. Cancer. 1992 Sep 15;70(6 Suppl):1719–1722. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19920915)70:4+<1719::aid-cncr2820701611>3.0.co;2-q. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cannon-Albright L. A., Skolnick M. H., Bishop D. T., Lee R. G., Burt R. W. Common inheritance of susceptibility to colonic adenomatous polyps and associated colorectal cancers. N Engl J Med. 1988 Sep 1;319(9):533–537. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198809013190902. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Easton D., Peto J. The contribution of inherited predisposition to cancer incidence. Cancer Surv. 1990;9(3):395–416. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Fernandez E., La Vecchia C., D'Avanzo B., Franceschi S., Negri E., Parazzini F. Oral contraceptives, hormone replacement therapy and the risk of colorectal cancer. Br J Cancer. 1996 Jun;73(11):1431–1435. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1996.272. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Ferraroni M., La Vecchia C., D'Avanzo B., Negri E., Franceschi S., Decarli A. Selected micronutrient intake and the risk of colorectal cancer. Br J Cancer. 1994 Dec;70(6):1150–1155. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1994.463. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Franceschi S., La Vecchia C., Bidoli E., Negri E., Talamini R. Meal frequency and risk of colorectal cancer. Cancer Res. 1992 Jul 1;52(13):3589–3592. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Fuchs C. S., Giovannucci E. L., Colditz G. A., Hunter D. J., Speizer F. E., Willett W. C. A prospective study of family history and the risk of colorectal cancer. N Engl J Med. 1994 Dec 22;331(25):1669–1674. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199412223312501. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kelly J. P., Rosenberg L., Kaufman D. W., Shapiro S. Reliability of personal interview data in a hospital-based case-control study. Am J Epidemiol. 1990 Jan;131(1):79–90. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115488. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kune G. A., Kune S., Watson L. F. The role of heredity in the etiology of large bowel cancer: data from the Melbourne Colorectal Cancer Study. World J Surg. 1989 Jan-Feb;13(1):124–131. doi: 10.1007/BF01671173. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. La Vecchia C., Ferraroni M., Mezzetti M., Enard L., Negri E., Franceschi S., Decarli A. Attributable risks for colorectal cancer in northern Italy. Int J Cancer. 1996 Mar 28;66(1):60–64. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0215(19960328)66:1<60::AID-IJC11>3.0.CO;2-F. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. La Vecchia C., Negri E., Decarli A., D'Avanzo B., Gallotti L., Gentile A., Franceschi S. A case-control study of diet and colo-rectal cancer in northern Italy. Int J Cancer. 1988 Apr 15;41(4):492–498. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910410404. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. La Vecchia C., Negri E., Franceschi S., Gentile A. Family history and the risk of stomach and colorectal cancer. Cancer. 1992 Jul 1;70(1):50–55. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19920701)70:1<50::aid-cncr2820700109>3.0.co;2-i. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Levi F., Lucchini F., La Vecchia C. Worldwide patterns of cancer mortality, 1985-89. Eur J Cancer Prev. 1994 Mar;3(2):109–143. doi: 10.1097/00008469-199403000-00004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Ponz de Leon M., Sassatelli R., Sacchetti C., Zanghieri G., Scalmati A., Roncucci L. Familial aggregation of tumors in the three-year experience of a population-based colorectal cancer registry. Cancer Res. 1989 Aug 1;49(15):4344–4348. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Potter J. D., Slattery M. L., Bostick R. M., Gapstur S. M. Colon cancer: a review of the epidemiology. Epidemiol Rev. 1993;15(2):499–545. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.epirev.a036132. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Slattery M. L., Kerber R. A. Family history of cancer and colon cancer risk: the Utah Population Database. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1994 Nov 2;86(21):1618–1626. doi: 10.1093/jnci/86.21.1618. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Slattery M. L., Mineau G. P., Kerber R. A. Reproductive factors and colon cancer: the influences of age, tumor site, and family history on risk (Utah, United States). Cancer Causes Control. 1995 Jul;6(4):332–338. doi: 10.1007/BF00051408. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. St John D. J., McDermott F. T., Hopper J. L., Debney E. A., Johnson W. R., Hughes E. S. Cancer risk in relatives of patients with common colorectal cancer. Ann Intern Med. 1993 May 15;118(10):785–790. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-118-10-199305150-00005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Willett W. The search for the causes of breast and colon cancer. Nature. 1989 Mar 30;338(6214):389–394. doi: 10.1038/338389a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Cancer are provided here courtesy of Cancer Research UK

RESOURCES