Familial cancer risk in family members and spouses of patients with early-onset head and neck cancer.

Abstract

Reported patterns of familial aggregation of head and neck cancer (HNC) vary greatly, with many studies hampered by the limited number of subjects. Altogether 923 early-onset (≤40 years old) HNC probands, their first-degree relatives, spouses, and siblings' offspring were ascertained. Cumulative risk and standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were estimated. Of all early-onset HNC families, only 21 (2.3%) had familial HNC cancers at any age and less than five familial early onset HNC cancers among first-degree relatives. The cumulative risk of HNC for siblings by age 60 (0.52%) was at population level (0.33%). No increased familial risk of early-onset HNC could be discerned in family members (SIR 2.68, 95% CI 0.32-9.68 for first-degree relatives). Our study indicates that the cumulative and relative familial risk of early-onset HNC is modest in the Finnish population and, at most, only a minor proportion of early-onset HNCs are due solely to inherited genetic mutations.