Familial Lung Cancer: A Brief History from the Earliest Work to the Most Recent Studies

Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer in the United States, killing roughly one of four cancer patients in 2016. While it is well-established that lung cancer is caused primarily by environmental effects (particularly tobacco smoking), there is evidence for genetic susceptibility. Lung cancer has been shown to aggregate in families, and segregation analyses have hypothesized a major susceptibility locus for the disease. Genetic association studies have provided strong evidence for common risk variants of small-to-moderate effect. Rare and highly penetrant alleles have been identified by linkage studies, including on 6q23–25. Though not common, some germline mutations have also been identified via sequencing studies. Ongoing genomics studies aim to identify additional high penetrance germline susceptibility alleles for this deadly disease.