Cancer of the pancreas in two brothers and one sister.

Over the past decades, pancreatic cancer has emerged as one of the most important malignancies in humans. This disease assumes a position of growing importance in view of its rising incidence and poor prognosis. Some familial pancreatic cancer has been reported with suggestions of hereditary, nutritional, home and familial environmental risk factors, and the possible role of genes in the development of this cancer among the members of one family. In an on-going case-control study of diet and cancer of the pancreas in Montreal, so far we were able to identify several familial cases of cancer of the pancreas. The most interesting case is the occurrence of this disease in two brothers and one sister all in their seventh decade of life. There was no history of pancreatitis among the cases or their relatives. Data from this study suggest that a familial predisposition to pancreatic cancer may occur in later decades of life. The role of genetic and environmental factors such as home remedies, familial food habits, etc., in the etiology of this cancer among these blood relatives, all in the same generation of one family, are unknown.