Are siblings at higher risk for cancer?

Learn about: Are siblings at higher risk for cancer? from Stuart E. Siegel, MD,...
Are siblings at higher risk for cancer? | Kids in the House
KidsInTheHouse the Ultimate Parenting Resource
Kids in the House Tour

Are siblings at higher risk for cancer?

Comment
86
Like
86
Transcription: 
The issue of increased cancer risk in the family, If a child gets cancer is a complicated one. There are rare inherited, genetic predispositions to cancer. There are actually a very well known syndromes, that if you have that syndrome, that can be inherited in the family, your siblings may be at a higher risk for cancer. But, it's very rare. These are - They account for a tiny proportion of the childhood cancers. In the vast majority of cases, having a sibling who's developed cancer, does not mean, in any significant way, an increased risk for you as another sibling, or any of the siblings in the family, having increased risk of getting cancer. So, we don't generally recommend that siblings or children with cancer be monitored at any particular way. Only if we find that the pattern of cancers in that family suggest one of these inherited syndromes. And, in fact, we detect that inherited syndrome with the specific tests that we can do.

Learn about: Are siblings at higher risk for cancer? from Stuart E. Siegel, MD,...

Related Videos

Transcript

Expert Bio

More from Expert

Stuart E. Siegel, MD

Director, Children’s Center for Cancer & Blood Diseases, Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Before recently shifting his focus to international medicine, Stuart Siegel, MD, was Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology for 35 years and the founding director of the the Children’s Center for Cancer & Blood Diseases at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and Professor and Head of the Division of Hematology-Oncology Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California. He remains a leader in supportive care and research in pediatric oncology, with a special focus on neuroblastoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Ewing Sarcoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and brain tumors. From developing the first pediatric protective environment in 1971 for children undergoing intensive chemotherapy, to pioneering current efforts to develop academic and clinical care programs nationally and locally for adolescents and young adults with cancer, Dr. Siegel’s contributions have revolutionized the field of pediatric oncology. Dr. Siegel has been honored for his work by the American Cancer Society, Children Foundation, the Cancer Foundation, the Chase Foundation, Padres Contra El Cancer, the Israel Cancer Research Fund and Ronald McDonald House Charities, where he is a member of the National Board, and has consistently been listed among the nation’s top doctors in such publications asAmerica’s Top Doctors and Best Doctors in America. He is a father of one son, Joshua; grandfather of David and Elijah; and lives in Pacific Palisades with his wife of seven years.

More Parenting Videos from Stuart E. Siegel, MD >
Enter your email to
download & subscribe
to our newsletter
  Listen or Watch
Must See First Year Videos
Three important rules about your baby's first foods
First year milestones
Postnatal depression and loneliness advice
Baby losing interest in nursing
The importance of spending quality time during early childhood
Narrating an infant's environment
Research based benefits of co-sleeping
Bonding versus attachment
Bonding with your baby after a less-than-perfect birth
Preventing postpartum depression
Play All 34 Videos
Featured Experts: Alan Greene, MD, Lawrence Kagan, MD, Barbara Olinger, MSW
More Playlists >
Transcription: 
The issue of increased cancer risk in the family, If a child gets cancer is a complicated one. There are rare inherited, genetic predispositions to cancer. There are actually a very well known syndromes, that if you have that syndrome, that can be inherited in the family, your siblings may be at a higher risk for cancer. But, it's very rare. These are - They account for a tiny proportion of the childhood cancers. In the vast majority of cases, having a sibling who's developed cancer, does not mean, in any significant way, an increased risk for you as another sibling, or any of the siblings in the family, having increased risk of getting cancer. So, we don't generally recommend that siblings or children with cancer be monitored at any particular way. Only if we find that the pattern of cancers in that family suggest one of these inherited syndromes. And, in fact, we detect that inherited syndrome with the specific tests that we can do.