How Often Do People With Cancer Get Cancer Again In A Different Location, Not Related To The Previous Cancer?
Statistically, does getting cancer decrease the risk of getting a different type of cancer (not related to the previous cancer)?
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Denisedd said,
December 30, 2009 @ 12:50 am
Based on data from a national meeting a few years back there were 2.7 million cases reported from nine SEER registries from 1973-1999 of these 10% developed a second primary.
Cheap car rentals Tenerife said,
December 30, 2009 @ 4:24 am
The chances of getting two unrelated cancers is pretty rare in any one individual. If you think take the chances of getting each cancer are unrelated event, then the odds of the two happening is very remote. Example: if chances of colon cancer is 1 in 1,000, and chances of breast cancer is 1 in 1000, then chances of both happening is 1 in 1,000,000.
However, there are certain syndromes or abnormalities which can predispose a person to getting multiple cancers. For example, if a person has HNPCC (Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colon Cancer) or BRCA, they maybe predisposed to multiple types of cancers because the underlying genetic abnormality increases the risks of multiple cancers.
Also certain treatments for cancer can themselves be carcinogenic. For example, people with history of Hodgkin Lymphoma who received radiation therapy 10-15 years ago, can be predisposed to getting a second cancer in the locations of radiation therapy (e.g. breast cancer).
So the odds are sometimes not as low as you would think.
SLC Mom said,
December 30, 2009 @ 7:09 am
I like Denise’s answer.
I work in hematology/oncology, and it is amazing how many people come in with one cancer and have a history of another cancer. Multiple myeloma followed by AML. Testicular cancer followed by lymphoma. Colon cancer followed by leukemia… and on and on.
Some of this is due to the cellular damage that the original chemotherapy causes. But some of it is probably due to a genetic predisposition to the cancerous mutations, or a fault in the person’s immune system so that they cannot combat the mutations that happen every day.
Teresa A said,
December 30, 2009 @ 8:45 am
I do not know the exact statistics, however, it is possible for the patient to get a secondary cancer unrelated to the first.
My son was diagnosed with AML Leukemia 5 years ago and is now in his 4th yr of remission. But we will always have to keep current with his doctors and check ups, because you really never know if it’s truly gone. It can return in 1yr, 5yrs, 20 yrs or even 50 yrs, or maybe never. The Dr has also warned us that there is a small possibility of another form of cancer may appear rather than the leukemia. There are no 100% guarantee with cancer.
Unfortunatly while my son was going through treatment, we lost a young lady who had one form of cancer, then developed breast cancer.
I hope this helped answer your question.
Free WP Plugins said,
December 30, 2009 @ 2:17 pm
Having cancer neither increases nor decreases the chance of a totally unrelated cancer.
However, there is such a thing as genetic predisposition towards various types of cancers. So while cancer #1 doesn’t actually cause cancer #2, the patient may have genetic issues underlying both cancers.
discusse said,
December 30, 2009 @ 4:03 pm
I don’t know what the chances are but I had cervical cancer in 2004 And Breast cancer in 2007-2008 my oncologist told me my chances of another type of cancer were high because of Rad.treatments because this damages the good cells to.
a.mcmill said,
December 30, 2009 @ 4:12 pm
no they usually don’t have anything to do with each other.
e.schmid said,
December 30, 2009 @ 4:14 pm
I dont think it happens to often….