Lung, Adrenal, Liver cancer

My mom had gallbladder cancer in her early twenties...she was treated for gallstones and the cancer was discovered and removed at that time. Later on, at age 44, she died...she was diagnosed five days prior to her death with lung cancer, the tumor was 10x8x6 cm. After reading the autopsy it appears that te cancer was also in her adrenal gland, 15x9x7 cm, and her liver 6x4x2 cm...is this hereditary and should I be tested for it? I am 34 years old...

My doubts are that the cancer started as lung cancer...I believe it started when she had gallbladder cancer...then it went to the adreanal gland, liver and then lung...is that not possible? Are galbladder and adrenal gland cancers hereditary?

There are a few oncologists who answer questions here and I hope one of them sees your question and answers it, as they know far more than I do. Clearly something very unusual was happening with your mother. It is rare for someone under 40 to have gallbladder cancer and it is also rare for someone 44 to have metastatic lung cancer. The fact she was diagnosed just before her death and the size of her tumors indicates she had a very aggressive form of cancer.

Less than 10 percent of cancers are hereditary. Are there any other family members with cancer? Did any of them get it at an early age? Were they unusually aggressive? I tend to think the cause of her problem may have been exposure or a genetic defect, not necessarily a hereditary one, or possibly a combination of both.

Genetic testing is very expensive it costs $3,000-$4,000 to test for the BRAC-1 and BRAC-2 breast cancer gene and we know what we are looking for with those. It is much easier and cost effective to first test the person with the cancer to see if there is a hereditary component and then test family members.

The other thing you need to consider is if you found her cancer was hereditary and you have the gene, is there anything you can do to prevent it or anything you could do differently than you can do now? In this case I would have to say no. You cannot have your lungs removed. You can have periodic chest x-rays or CTs, stay away from smoking, not inhale hazardous chemicals, etc., but you can do those things without genetic testing.

I鈥檓 sorry, I know you are looking for answers and a solution to ease your mind, but I don鈥檛 have those for you. I have included some links that may answer your questions better than I can. Good luck.


http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/200...

http://www.genetics.wayne.edu/lung/

EDIT: Hereditary cancer is rare regardless of the primary site, however it is more likely to have a hereditary cancer of the gallbladder than it is from the lung. Not that it can鈥檛 happen, but I have never seen a gallbladder cancer with mets 20 years later. The autopsy report should state what the primary site was. Usually lung mets appear as multiple nodules at the base of the lungs, not as one large tumor.


EDIT: I鈥檓 so sorry you lost your parents at such a young age. I can only imagine how difficult that must be. You may very well be right about it coming from the gallbladder. When people get a non-childhood cancer at a young age and/or if it is because of exposure it can behave very unpredictably. It could have been from the DDT. There were studies done on workers who handled DDT and they found a higher incidence of cancers of the liver and biliary tract. The biliary tract connects to the gallbladder. I hope you find the answers you are looking for. Best of luck to you.

No. Lung cancer is not considered hereditary. Your mother had what is referred to as Metastatic Lung cancer . . all advanced cancers become metastatic and that is what most people die from. What happened is that the original lung tumor got large enough to 'shed' malignant microscopic cells . .that got into the blood stream or lymphatic system and traveled all over her body. Some of those malignant cells ended up in the liver and adreanal gland and started a whole new colony of lung cancer in that area. Those tumors were all capable of becoming metastatic as well and sending even more and more and more malignant cells into the body. It is possible for a cancer patient to be filled with malignant tumors as the cancer can travel anywhere in the body.

I am very sorry about your Mom, but she died from lung cancer that had become metastatic . . most people who die from cancer have metastatis present at death.

ACS: What is metatastic cancer?
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/conten...