Dr Lubin, my partner at Helix Health 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 whatthis tells me is that the Kennedy family may haveLi-Fraumenior Li Fraumeni Like."
Well, perhaps we should call Dana Farber. Why? Because,Dr Rosenthal over theredoes 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 littleGeneTests searchcan 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....
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:
Aprobandwith a sarcoma diagnosed before 45 years of age AND LFL shares some, but not all of the features listed for LFS.
Warmer.....
Aprobandwith any childhood cancer or sarcoma, brain tumor, or adrenal cortical tumor diagnosed before 45 years of age (Ted Junior) AND A first- orsecond-degree relativewith a typical LFS cancer (sarcoma, breast cancer, brain tumor, adrenal cortical tumor, or leukemia) at any age (Ted Sr) AND
Well Harvard. Looks like you were scooped byHelix Health....... 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!
Classic LFS is defined by the following criteria:
Aprobandwith a sarcoma diagnosed before 45 years of age AND
Afirst-degree relativewith any cancer under 45 years of age AND
A first- orsecond-degree relativewith 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.
Birch's definition of LFL [Birch et al 1994]:
A first- orsecond-degree relativewith a typical LFS cancer (sarcoma, breast cancer, brain tumor, adrenal cortical tumor, or leukemia) at any age (Ted Sr) AND
A first- orsecond-degree relativewith any cancer under the age of 60 years (Daughter age 43)