Increased Risk for Nonmedullary Thyroid Cancer in the First Degree Relatives of Prevalent Cases of Nonmedullary Thyroid Cancer: A Hospital-Based Study

The genetic basis for nonmedullary forms of thyroid cancer (NMTC) is less well established than that of medullary thyroid cancer. However, epidemiological and family studies suggest that a proportion of NMTC may be due to inherited predisposition. To estimate the familial risk of thyroid cancer, we conducted a hospital-based case-control study at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and at 2 university hospitals in Montréal, Québec, Canada. We obtained pedigrees from 339 unselected patients diagnosed with NMTC and from 319 unaffected ethnically matched controls. Family histories of cancer were obtained from the cases and controls for 3292 first degree relatives of cases and controls. Seventeen cases (5.0%) and 2 controls (0.6%) reported at least one first degree relative with thyroid cancer. In relatives of patients with thyroid cancer, the incidence of any type of cancer (including NMTC) was 38% higher than in relatives of controls (incidence rate ratio, 1.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.1–1.7). The relative risk for thyroid cancer was 10-fold higher in relatives of cancer patients than in controls (incidence rate ratio, 10.3; 95% confidence interval, 2.2–47.6). Our findings suggest that hereditary or other familial factors are important in a small proportion of NMTC. Molecular studies are needed to determine the genetic basis of cancer susceptibility in these families.