Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, Vol 3, Issue 6 461-464, Copyright © 1994 by American Association for Cancer Research

ARTICLES

Familial predisposition to precancerous gastric lesions in a high-risk area of China

L Zhao, WJ Blot, WD Liu, YS Chang, JS Zhang, YR Hu, WC You, GW Xu and JF Fraumeni Jr
Beijing Institute for Cancer Research, Beijing Medical University, China.

Aggregation of intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia was investigated among families participating in a population-based gastroscopic screening survey in an area of China with one of the world's highest rates of stomach cancer. The prevalence of gastric dysplasia was significantly increased among those with dysplasia among siblings or spouses, but not parents. The odds of dysplasia were nearly doubled if an eldest brother or a spouse was affected. Sibling and spousal associations for intestinal metaplasia were much less pronounced and not statistically significant. The specificity of the findings suggests that familial risk of advanced precancerous lesions (dysplasia) is influenced not only by genetic factors, but also by environmental factors operating in childhood and early adult life.

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