Risk of Lung Cancer Among White and Black Relatives of Individuals With Early-Onset Lung Cancer

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Abstract
Cigarette smoking has long been established as the major risk factor for lung cancer in the general population.1 However, familial aggregation of disease, even after adjusting for smoking habits, has also been identified.2-4 Greatest risk is seen in families with early-onset disease compared with those whose onset of lung cancer occurred at older ages.5-8 The recent identification of a susceptibility region on chromosome 6 provides more evidence that lung cancer development is not only a disease of environmental origins (ie, tobacco smoking) but that a genetic predisposition to lung cancer also exists.9 However, discovery of the specific germline mutations and development of a predictive genetic test for lung cancer are still years off.

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