AVALIAÇÃO DA HISTÓRIA FAMÍLIAR POR HEREDOGRAMA EM CÂNCER DE MAMA

Abstract

Cancer familial includes some types of cancer aggregation without a well defined inheritance pattern. Cancer genetics is an essential component of clinical practice in oncology. In Brazil, breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women. In Maranhão, studies on genetic predisposition are needed to investigate the incidence and mortality rates. To evaluate the familial cancer from family history of women who died of breast cancer, the purpose of constructing pedigree to identify families with hereditary predisposition, relevant aspect in the early tumors diagnosis. This is a descriptive and observational study of a convenience sample from 54 medical records of the Instituto Maranhense de Oncologia Aldenora Bello on women who died of cancer, from 2000 to 2007 in São Luis, MA, Brazil. The data were analyzed using Epi Info 2007. It was investigated medical records of 54 women who died of breast cancer under the age of 60 years and their relatives of first and second grade. It was demonstrated the distribution characteristics of selected variables on socio-demographic data, histopathological type, stage, survival and pedigree. It was constructed pedigrees, have been identified 18 families with cancer cases reports. This study was approved by the UFMA Teaching Hospital s Research Ethics Committee. The patients average age at diagnosis and at the death was 39.55 and 41.98 years, respectively. Overall survival ranged from 1 to 240 months. We observed only one case of affected relatives in 13 families and two in three cases. Eleven patients reported cases in first degree relatives and four, in second degree relatives. Eleven patients with family history were diagnosed at the age of 39 years and 4 were 50 years or more. Tumors identified in families included: lung cancer, prostate cancer and melanoma. Ten families had two or more cases over two generations, three had two or more cases in the same generation, and one reported three cases in three generations. Ten families reported involvement only in first-degree relatives, only three second-degree relatives and one in both. It was verified that 33.33% of the patients studied had a cancer family history. Of these, more than half were diagnosed at age less than 39 years, suggesting a possible relationship between early age of cancer onset and increased frequency of cases in the family, which subsidizes the hereditary cancer study, promoting samples biorepositories implantation in the Maranhão State, Brazil.