Increased risk of adenomas in individuals with a family history of colorectal cancer: results of a meta-analysis

• Published in: Cancer causes & control Vol. 21; no. 12; pp. 2287 - 2293
• Main Authors: Wilschut, Janneke A, Habbema, J. Dik F, Ramsey, Scott D, Boer, Rob, Looman, Caspar W. N, van Ballegooijen, Marjolein
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands 01-12-2010; Springer; Springer Netherlands; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abstracting; Adenoma; Adenoma - epidemiology; Adenoma - etiology; Adenoma prevalence; Adult; Age; Algorithms; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Cancer Research; Cancer screening; Case control studies; Colonoscopy; Colorectal cancer; colorectal neoplasms; Colorectal Neoplasms - epidemiology; Colorectal Neoplasms - etiology; Disease Susceptibility - epidemiology; Epidemiology; Family Health; Family history; Family medical history; Female; Gastroenterology; Gender; Genetic disorders; Hematology; Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal neoplasms; Humans; Male; Medical History Taking; Meta-analysis; Middle Aged; Neoplasia; Oncology; Original Paper; Prevalence; Public Health; Regression analysis; Risk Factors; Tumors; United States > US; Family history; Adenoma prevalence; Colorectal cancer
• ISSN: 0957-5243; 1573-7225
• DOI: 10.1007/s10552-010-9654-y

Objective It is unclear to what extent the increased risk of colorectal cancer in individuals with a family history of colorectal cancer and no known genetic disorders is associated with a higher adenoma prevalence. Our aim is to estimate the relative difference in adenoma prevalence and its age-pattern in individuals with a family history of colorectal cancer compared to those without. Methods We performed a literature search to identify colonoscopy studies reporting the adenoma prevalence by age. Using multilevel logistic regression, we examined how the adenoma prevalence by age differed between individuals with and without a family history of colorectal cancer. We excluded members of families with a known genetic disorder. Results Thirteen colonoscopy studies were identified. The adenoma prevalence was significantly higher in individuals with a family history than in those without (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.4-3.5). The adenoma prevalence increased with age (OR per year of age 1.06, 95% CI 1.05-1.07). The age trend did not differ significantly between the two groups. Conclusion Individuals with a family history of colorectal cancer have a considerably higher prevalence of adenomas compared to individuals without a family history. This is consistent with their increased risk of colorectal cancer.