[Fat Bear Science] Did you know? The occurrence of cancer is closely related to family. Take a look at these cancer-causing factors and see how many of them are in your family.

April 15-21 is the National Cancer Prevention and Control Week. This year's theme is "Healthy China, Healthy Home - Care for Life, Prevent Cancer Scientifically."

It can be said that family has a profound impact on cancer. A family lives together day and night, but with bad living habits and a bad living environment... long-term "indulgence", cancer may quietly come to you. Of course, providing your family with a comfortable and safe environment can also reduce the chance of cancer.

Today, let's talk about family and cancer.

Expert Profile

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Li Yongsheng

Director of the Department of Oncology, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Chongqing University, Director of the Teaching and Research Section, Chief Physician, Second-level Professor, Doctor of Medicine, Doctoral Supervisor, Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard Medical School, USA.

Focusing on the research of lipid metabolism and tumor immunity, he excels in the precise diagnosis and treatment of rare malignant tumors, difficult malignant tumors, digestive system tumors, respiratory system tumors, genitourinary system tumors, bone and soft tissue tumors, etc. He has profound attainments in molecular targeted therapy, tumor metabolism and immunotherapy, palliative care, and adverse reaction control.

Clinic hours: Wednesday morning 8:00-12:00 (specialist clinic for tumors, rare diseases and difficult diseases)

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Lu Songmei

Oncologist at the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Chongqing University. Participated in 2 provincial and ministerial scientific research projects and published several academic papers.

Everyone, please note that the following family factors may induce cancer.

Genetic factors

Genetic factors are determined after the fertilized egg is formed. People who inherit cancer-causing genes from their parents or older direct relatives have a greater risk of developing cancer than people who do not inherit cancer-causing genes.

Epidemiological studies have shown that 5%-10% of breast cancer is familial. If a close relative has breast cancer, the risk of family members developing the disease increases by 1.5-3 times. In hereditary breast cancer and ovarian cancer, the BRCA1/BRCA2 gene mutation is more likely to cause disease. About 40%-50% of hereditary breast cancer is caused by BRCA1/BRCA2 gene mutation. Literature reports that people with BRCA1 gene mutations have a 50%-85% and 15%-45% risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer, respectively. People with BRCA2 gene mutations have a 50%-85% and 10%-20% risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer, respectively.

In addition to BRCA1 and BRCA2, mutations in TP53, PTEN, STK11/LKB1, CDH1, CHEK2, ATM, MLH1, MSH2, etc. have been shown to be associated with hereditary breast and/or ovarian cancer. However, not all mutation carriers will develop cancer, but those who carry this mutation have a high susceptibility to cancer.

Lynch Syndrome is the most common hereditary colorectal cancer syndrome in clinic, accounting for 2%-4% of colorectal cancer patients. It is caused by mutations in germline DNA mismatch repair genes (MMR). Carriers of germline mutations in these genes are prone to a variety of tumors, such as colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, gastric cancer, small intestine cancer, hepatobiliary cancer, upper urinary tract cancer, brain cancer, skin cancer, etc.

Environmental factors

This is a relatively easy-to-control factor among carcinogenic factors, such as exposure to toxic and harmful substances, inhalation of secondhand smoke, kitchen fumes, etc.

The harmful substances in tobacco can cause gene mutations and increase the incidence of cancer. The most harmful substances in tobacco are nicotine, nitric oxide, and tar, the latter of which is the culprit of cancer. After the harmful substances in cigarettes enter the human body, they can cause cancer through the following ways:

① Free radical oxidative stress;

② Directly lead to mutations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes;

③ Smoke activates carcinogenic metabolic enzymes;

④ Damage and imbalance in the expression of inflammatory cytokines.

In general, current scientific research has confirmed that cancers that are more closely related to smoking include lung cancer, oral cancer, laryngeal cancer, esophageal cancer, stomach cancer and cervical cancer, especially lung cancer.

Kitchen fumes are a factor that causes cancer. Studies have shown that long-term exposure to kitchen fumes can affect lung tissue. Cooking often produces a lot of fumes, which is a long-term and continuous source of fumes and may cause cancer.

In addition, formaldehyde is also one of the factors that cause cancer. It is generally recommended to ventilate a newly renovated house for more than half a year before moving in. If you are pregnant or have an infant, it is recommended to ventilate it for a longer time before moving in. It is best to clearly mark the formaldehyde content of newly purchased furniture and recommend the storage time. Or go to the second-hand market to buy high-quality furniture that has been placed for a long time. Some new cars have a strong pungent odor, which may be related to the interior material of the car. It is recommended to choose a car without obvious odor as much as possible if economic conditions permit, and pay attention to ventilation. The space inside the car is narrow, so try to use products with irritating odors as little as possible.

Dietary factors

Three meals a day are very important for a family. Many people like to eat pickled foods and fried foods, which are not good for health.

Pickled foods contain large amounts of nitrite, and fried foods produce large amounts of carcinogens due to high temperatures. Long-term consumption of both can lead to an increased incidence of cancer.

In addition, some overnight dishes stored in the refrigerator do not have a real shelf life. As time goes by, the accumulation of bacteria in the overnight dishes will increase significantly, and nutrients will be lost.

The temperature of food is also very important. Overly hot food can damage the oral mucosa and esophageal mucosa, leading to an increased incidence of "oral cancer" and "esophageal cancer".

Those with a higher intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains (such as soy milk, soy products, etc.) and dietary fiber have a lower risk of breast cancer. However, a high intake of red meat, animal fat and refined carbohydrates is associated with an increased risk of the disease.

As the total fat intake in the diet increases, the incidence of breast cancer increases. Please also carefully read the nutrition label of the food you buy. If it contains too many unhealthy ingredients, such as margarine, preservatives, thickeners, flavors, etc., it is not recommended to buy and eat frequently. Other factors such as mood and sleep also have a certain impact on the occurrence of cancer.

So, how to prevent it if there are family factors?

Do you have a family history? Do regular screening

How to determine whether you have inherited a cancer-causing gene? You can carefully collect the number of cancer patients in your family pedigree. If all family members with blood relations within three generations have not had cancer, then congratulations, the probability of you carrying a cancer-causing gene is very low. If one or more people within three generations have cancer, then the probability of you carrying a cancer gene is relatively much higher. At this time, you should work harder on controllable factors such as environmental factors and diet, and pay attention to physical examinations, regularly do tumor screening, and treat precancerous lesions in time once they occur. You can also go to a regular genetic counseling clinic for examination and risk assessment.

Is there smoke in the house? Get everyone out

Studies have shown that both tobacco and kitchen fumes are high-risk factors for cancer.

The harm of tobacco is obvious to all. It is a carcinogen. If your partner smokes, then we must stay away from secondhand smoke. First, we must resolutely stop smoking anywhere in the house to avoid smoke adsorbing on towels, carpets, etc. Second, help family members quit smoking as much as possible.

To stay away from kitchen fumes, we should maintain kitchen air convection, and it is important to choose a range hood with strong suction. In daily cooking, it is recommended to choose steaming more, and use less frying, stir-frying, and stir-frying to minimize the amount of fumes inhaled into the lungs.

Cancer comes from the mouth? Eat less pickled and overnight vegetables

As mentioned before, bacteria will slowly grow in overnight food in the refrigerator. The longer it is stored, the more nitrite will be produced. Therefore, try not to eat overnight food. When eating, you should chew slowly, not be picky about food, and not overeat. Maintaining a suitable body shape is also an important part of maintaining a healthy body.

Sichuan and Chongqing like to eat pickled food, but during the pickling process, the nitrate in the vegetables will be converted into nitrite. We can try it occasionally, but don't eat it for three meals a day.

Early detection? Regular physical examination is the best way

Prevention is the first step in cancer prevention and control, and regular physical examinations are also very important. Because early cancer often has no symptoms, and when symptoms appear, it may have progressed to the middle and late stages, the treatment effect plummets, and the cost of treatment rises sharply. So if you are at high risk of cancer, please be sure to do regular physical examinations. You can check and self-examine according to the "Guidelines for Screening and Prevention of Common Malignant Tumors among Chongqing Residents (2021 Edition)". Only by early prevention, early diagnosis, and early treatment can we stay away from cancer.

Family support is important when you are diagnosed with cancer

Once cancer occurs, it is very important to correctly understand and treat the disease. Do not rush to seek medical treatment, look for folk remedies everywhere, or blindly follow a fellow patient's treatment plan because it has achieved good results.

One-sided information often dominates the direct decision-making of a patient's family. Tumors are a type of heterogeneous disease. Even for the same cancer, different stages, genetic phenotypes, patient comorbidities and other complex factors may have completely different therapeutic effects on the same treatment plan. Therefore, it is more appropriate to go to a regular hospital for treatment, listen carefully to the advice of the attending physician, and further combine the family's strengths for a comprehensive analysis.

Many patients are diagnosed with cancer but their families try their best to keep it a secret, which results in the patients not knowing about their disease and not being able to participate in even the most basic treatment decisions. We do not advocate blindly hiding the medical history from patients, because cancer treatment is often a systematic and long-term process that often requires the cooperation of patients, and many clinical trials that are very important to patients also require the informed consent of the patients themselves. Therefore, if family members are worried that patients will be under great psychological pressure after learning about their illness, they should strengthen companionship, communicate more, and learn more about positive and active anti-cancer stories. Finally, I hope that every family can do a good job of prevention and control at the gate of prevention and stay away from cancer.

Article/Department of Oncology Photos/Partially from the Internet (Please contact us to delete if there is any infringement) Review/Fat Bear

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