FaCD Online Syndrome Fact Sheet

Last updated: 23 Apr 2009

Name: Asthma

Mode of Inheritance: Multifact

Tumor features (possible)

colorectal cancer
lung/bronchial cancer

Non-tumor features

asthma
lung emphysema

Comment

Increased risk to develop lung cancer has been observed in patients with asthma[1] but the opposite has been reported as well[2]. Moderate excess colorectal cancer and bladder cancer (males) has been found as well[1]. A recent meta-analysis found no confincing evidence for an increased risk of cancers of the breast or colorectum in patients with asthma, hay fever or any allergy[3].
(discussing the genetics of asthma is beyond the scope of FaCD)

References

[1] Vesterinen E, Pukkala E, Timonen T, Aromaa A. Cancer incidence among 78,000 asthmatic patients. Int J Epidemiol 1993; 22(6):976-982.
[2] Ramanakumar AV, Parent ME, Menzies D, Siemiatycki J. Risk of lung cancer following nonmalignant respiratory conditions: evidence from two case-control studies in Montreal, Canada. Lung cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands) 2006; 53(1):5-12.
[3] Vojtechova P, Martin RM. The association of atopic diseases with breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers: a meta-analysis. Cancer Causes Control. 2009 Apr 2. [Epub ahead of print]