If you get a specific cancer, say Prostate, does this increase your risk of getting another unrelated cancer, say kidney or pancreatic cancer?

• If you get a specific cancer, say Prostate, does this increase your risk of getting another unrelated cancer, say kidney or pancreatic cancer?

I think so, yes. I know someone who had cancer go from breast to bone to liver…

My mum had bowel cancer. She was in remission for several years before she was diagnosed with lung cancer. The medical people said it was the same cancer that reappeared in the lungs. Not sure how they can tell.

furious said:

• If you get a specific cancer, say Prostate, does this increase your risk of getting another unrelated cancer, say kidney or pancreatic cancer?

I think so, yes. I know someone who had cancer go from breast to bone to liver…

I’m no medico but I think your risk of getting another unrelated cancer is not high. It’s more along the genetic predisposition lines. Getting a cancer caused by the spread of the original one is quite high if left untreated.

furious said:

• If you get a specific cancer, say Prostate, does this increase your risk of getting another unrelated cancer, say kidney or pancreatic cancer?

I think so, yes. I know someone who had cancer go from breast to bone to liver…

I think that is what is called a secondary cancer, I was thinking more in terms of another primary, but spose it would be difficult to tell the difference.

party_pants said:

My mum had bowel cancer. She was in remission for several years before she was diagnosed with lung cancer. The medical people said it was the same cancer that reappeared in the lungs. Not sure how they can tell.

Perhaps by comparing biopsys from each location?

furious said:

• If you get a specific cancer, say Prostate, does this increase your risk of getting another unrelated cancer, say kidney or pancreatic cancer?

I think so, yes. I know someone who had cancer go from breast to bone to liver…

My wife had breast cancer and a mastectomy.

12 years later it came back – bone, lung, liver and mensary, she was being treated for arthritis of the hip.
By the time xrays were ordered it had eaten away half the ball of the hip joint. Fckn doctor.

I’m running at dialup speed at the moment, so can’t search for you. Try running a search on your question here:

http://www.hon.ch/med.html

“risk of second unrelated cancer” or something like that.

General answer: It depends.

To define:
Primary cancer is where the first cells started misbehaving.
Secondary cancer or metastases are when cells from the primary cancer spread, generally through the bloodsteam, lodge somewhere else in the body, and start growing another tumour.

As to how you differentiate between a metastasis (eg breast cancer spreading to distant bone) and a different primary (eg breast cancer and sarcoma), it also depends. Particular cancers tend to spread to particular areas. The only way to be certain is with tissue diagnosis ie biopsies of both. However, we don’t always do that. If someone is clearly not going to have their cancer ‘cured’, putting them through another biopsy is cruel and unnecessary. But if the intent is to cure, you might very well biopsy both because it may change treatment options.

So to answer the question:

A) Having one cancer obviously means that metastases are possible, increasing the risk of the same cancer in other tissues. Under the microscope, and with other tests, the metastases look like the primary tumour. If chemotherapy is the treatment of choice, it will affect all of them.

B) If one has a genetic cancer, eg breast cancer with a BrCa mutation, different primary cancers in other sites eg ovary are more likely. Under the microscope, the cancers don’t look like the primary tumour. The same chemotherapy may not treat them all.

C) Some cancer treatments increase the risk of developing other cancers later in life. Again, under the microscope, the cancers later in life don’t look like the primary tumour. The same chemotherapy may not treat them all.

D) Some people have particular mutations that make them more likely to develop any cancer.

OCDC has answered this nicely, but note that in every one of the four options A, B, C and D, the answer to the original question “If you get a specific cancer, say Prostate, does this increase your risk of getting another unrelated cancer, say kidney or pancreatic cancer?” is “Yes”.

Mr Mutant’s gran has secondary liver cancer, but the doctors can’t find the primary cancer. How do they know the liver is a secondary cancer if there’s no sign of the primary and she has no prior cancer history?

mollwollfumble said:

OCDC has answered this nicely, but note that in every one of the four options A, B, C and D, the answer to the original question “If you get a specific cancer, say Prostate, does this increase your risk of getting another unrelated cancer, say kidney or pancreatic cancer?” is “Yes”.

OCDC and molly, thankyou both.

Divine Angel said:

Mr Mutant’s gran has secondary liver cancer, but the doctors can’t find the primary cancer. How do they know the liver is a secondary cancer if there’s no sign of the primary and she has no prior cancer history?

Because it doesn’t look like a primary liver cancer.

I forgot E) If you have a specific cancer, say prostate, it may not increase your risk of getting another unrelated cancer, providing B, C and D are not present.