I know patient/person specific advice is prohibited so let's speak hypothetically! :) Mother of 5 children died approx. 6 years ago in early 70s from ERGF + adenocarcinoma nsclc. Had very good Tarceva response which prolonged survival. Tragically 44 y/o daughter was diagnosed this past June with stage IV adenosquamos nsclc. She was symptomatic with hemoptysis which brought her to treatment. Her cancer genome sequencing expressed many mutations and Tarceva and dbl platinum based chemo did nothing to halt progression. This mother of 3 young children succumbed to the cancer last week. Both never smokers. With this history in the family, what would be a general screening recommendation for the remaining 4 siblings ages 50 to 35?
Thank you for your time and expertise and compassion
Screening for survivors in family with 2 lung cancer deaths - 1268634
missyfe
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Reply # - February 25, 2015, 04:41 PM
Current screening
Current screening recommendations don't take this into account. This isn't to say that it would be unreasonable on an individual basis, but the general screening recommendation is that it isn't recommended for people who aren't between 55 and 75 years old (arguably 80, max) with a significant smoking history of 30 pack-years or more.
-Dr. West
Reply # - February 26, 2015, 05:28 AM
Hello missyfe,
Hello missyfe,
I am sorry to hear of your losses. Lung cancer is such a cruel disease and despite advances I wish we had better weapons with which to fight it.
As far as your concern about genetics, certified genetic counselor Robert Resta stated in his post “What is the Genetic Component of Lung Cancer?”:
“Despite the strong influence of cigarette smoking on lung cancer risk, genetics no doubt plays some – likely small – role. Studies of lung cancer in families have shown a slightly greater risk of developing lung cancer among relatives of lung cancer patients. Overall, though, if you have lung cancer, the vast majority of your non-smoking siblings, children, cousins and other relatives will never develop lung cancer.” – http://cancergrace.org/lung/2008/08/29/resta-genetic-risk-lung-ca/
He goes on to state:
“Some studies have found that certain genetic markers may be associated with a slightly higher or lower risk of developing lung cancer. However, no genetic test can reliably predict who will or will not develop lung cancer, either among smokers or non-smokers.”
And he concludes: “If you have a relative with lung cancer, and you are not a smoker, the odds are very low that you will develop lung cancer.”
JimC
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