Family history and the natural history of colorectal cancer: systematic review

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Nora B. Henrikson, Group Health Research Institute; Elizabeth M. Webber, Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research; Katrina A. Goddard, Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research; Aaron Scrol, Group Health Research Institute; Margaret Piper, Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research; Marc S. Williams, Geisinger Health System; Doris T. Zallen, Virginia Tech; Ned Calonge, The Colorado Trust; Theodore G. Ganiats, University of California San Diego; Anna Janssens, Emory University; Ann Zauber, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Iris Lansdorp-Vogelaar, Erasmus MC; Marjolein Van Ballegooijen, Erasmus MC; Evelyn P. Whitlock, Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research
• Language: English
• Date: 2015-01-15
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group: Open Access Hybrid Model Option B
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 1969, Rights Managed by Nature Publishing Group
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/gim.2014.188
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Genetics in Medicine
• ISSN: 1098-3600
• Volume: 17
• Issue: 9
• Start Page: 702
• End Page: 712
• Grant/Funding Information: This study was supported by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant 5U18GD000076-02.
• Keywords: systematic review; family history; risk stratification; colorectal cancer
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health; Health Sciences, Oncology

Abstract

Family history of colorectal cancer (CRC) is a known risk factor for CRC, and encompasses both genetic and shared environmental risk. We conducted a systematic review to estimate the impact of family history on the natural history of CRC and adherence to screening. We found high heterogeneity in family history definitions, the most common definition being one or more first-degree relatives. The prevalence of family history may be lower than commonly cited 10%, and confirms evidence for increasing levels of risk associated with increasing family history burden. There is evidence for higher prevalence of adenomas and of multiple adenomas in people with family history of CRC, but no evidence for differential adenoma location or adenoma progression by family history. Limited data on the natural history of CRC by family history suggests a differential age or stage at cancer diagnosis and mixed evidence on tumor location. Adherence to recommended colonoscopy screening was higher in people with family history of CRC. Stratification based on polygenic and/or multifactorial risk assessment may mature to the point of displacing family history-based approaches, but for the foreseeable future family history may remain a valuable clinical tool for identifying individuals at increased risk of CRC.