Senator Kennedy's Cancer Family History

Dr Lubin, my partner at Helix Health of Connecticut asked me this question.

"Am I the only one to think about this? Ted Kennedy Junior had Osteosarcoma. His other son Patrick had a Spinal Tumor (I'd love to see the path on that). Ted Senior has a Glioma.....Likely GBM. In addition, his daughter had lung cancer at 43 (Was she a smoker?) and breast. So what this tells me is that the Kennedy family may have Li-Fraumeni or Li Fraumeni Like."

Well, perhaps we should call Dana Farber. Why? Because, Dr Rosenthal over there does not seem to be impressed. from the Globe:

Dr. David S. Rosenthal, former president of the American Cancer Society and the medical director of the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrated Therapies at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, said that while he is not familiar with the details of the Kennedys' medical history, he considers it "unlikely that the cancers are related." Given the young age at which some of the Kennedys' cancers occurred, and the fact that they were found in different organs, it is unlikely, but not impossible, that there is a common genetic thread linking them.

Hmm, let's see what a little GeneTests search can do. BTW the article was written by a Dana Farber genetic counselor.

Disease characteristics. Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) is a cancer predisposition syndrome associated with soft-tissue sarcoma, breast cancer, leukemia, osteosarcoma, melanoma, and cancer of the colon, pancreas, adrenal cortex, and brain. Individuals with LFS are at increased risk for developing multiple primary cancers.

Hmmmm....

Genetic counseling. LFS is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner. Offspring of an affected individual have a 50% chance of inheriting the disease-causing mutation. Predisposition testing for at-risk family members is available in families in which the disease-causing mutation has been identified.

Two forms of Li-Fraumeni syndrome are recognized: classic Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) and Li-Fraumeni-like syndrome (LFL).
Classic LFS is defined by the following criteria:

A proband with a sarcoma diagnosed before 45 years of age AND

A first-degree relative with any cancer under 45 years of age AND

A first- or second-degree relative with any cancer under 45 years of age or a sarcoma at any age [Li & Fraumeni 1969].

LFL shares some, but not all of the features listed for LFS.

Warmer.....

Birch's definition of LFL [Birch et al 1994]:

A proband with any childhood cancer or sarcoma, brain tumor, or adrenal cortical tumor diagnosed before 45 years of age (Ted Junior) AND

A first- or second-degree relative with a typical LFS cancer (sarcoma, breast cancer, brain tumor, adrenal cortical tumor, or leukemia) at any age (Ted Sr) AND

A first- or second-degree relative with any cancer under the age of 60 years (Daughter age 43)

Well Harvard. Looks like you were scooped by Helix Health of Connecticut.......

To the Kennedys, feel free to call for a full evaluation with Dr Murray up there, if someone at Harvard hasn't had the sense to send you already!