Not many people know about Napoleon, but you may not know that his grandfather, father, one brother and three sisters all died of stomach cancer, making a total of seven people in the entire Napoleon family, including himself, who had stomach cancer. Is it possible that stomach cancer is hereditary?
Stomach cancer does run in families
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In Europe and North America, about 3% of gastric cancers run in families, including 8% to 10% in Italy, and the immediate family of a person with gastric cancer has about a 3-fold higher risk of developing gastric cancer compared to a normal person. In some Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea, 0.9% and 0.5% to 0.8% of gastric cancers have a familial tendency, respectively.
Gastric cancer clustering in families may be genetically related, in addition to family members being in the same living environment, having similar dietary habits, or being associated with certain incidental factors. It has been suggested that gastric cancer can be seen as part of a tumor syndrome with a genetic predisposition to tumors, that is, gastric cancer may be one of the manifestations of a tumor syndrome with a genetic predisposition.
What factors are associated with the inheritance of gastric cancer?
How do you understand the heritability of gastric cancer? Gastric cancer associated with genetic factors, or hereditary gastric cancer, accounts for about 1% to 3% of gastric cancers, the most common of which is hereditary diffuse gastric cancer. Hereditary diffuse gastric cancer has been reported to be associated with some of the following genetic mutations:
- CDH1 gene, which is considered to be one of the risk factors and markers for hereditary diffuse gastric cancer.
- Mutations in the CTNNA1 gene, encoding α-E-linked protein, may also contribute to the development of hereditary diffuse gastric cancer.
- MAP3K6, BRCA2, and PALB2 genes may also be associated with hereditary diffuse gastric cancer.
It is true that gastric cancer may be hereditary and associated with mutations in some genes, but in more patients, gastric cancer is the result of a combination of acquired factors. Therefore, establishing a good diet, creating a good living environment, and avoiding or eliminating H. pylori infection as early as possible may be more critical in preventing the development of gastric cancer.