Associations between family history of colorectal cancer and genetic alterations in tumors

A family history of colorectal cancer has been consistently associated with an increased risk of developing colon cancer. However, there is limited information on the association between family history of colorectal cancer and genetic alterations that occur in colon tumors. In this study, we evaluate the association among genetic alterations of Ki-ras and p53, microsatellite instability and having a family history of colorectal cancer in a study of incident colon cancer cases (n = 1993) and population-based controls (n = 2,410). Although there was a slight nonsignificant increase in risk of having an unstable tumor among those with a family history of colorectal cancer, this increase in risk disappeared after excluding those people with a known mutation in either of the mismatch repair genes hMLH1 or hMSH2. A family history of colorectal cancer was not associated with Ki-ras mutations overall, although those with a G to T mutation of the second base of codon 12 were more likely to have a family history of colorectal cancer than were those without this specific type of Ki-ras mutation. Cases with p53 mutations were less likely to have a family history of colorectal cancer than were cases without a p53 mutation. We believe that, given the general lack of association between having a family history of colorectal cancer and genetic alterations in tumors, these alterations are acquired through disease pathways that involve exposure from diet, lifestyle or other environmental factors.