Profile of cancer family clustering in Jordan.

This paper explores cancer family clustering in a random sample of patients registered in the Jordan National Cancer Registry for the year 1999, the most recent year that complete data were available. A special instrument was designed and data collected through personal interviews. Of the final sample of 707 cancer patients, 23% had a positive family history of cancer, 59% of which was first-degree clustering. For every proband there were 1.39 contacts. Half of them were first-degree relatives of the proband and 17% had cancer at the same site as the proband. Family clustering of cancer in Jordan appears to be of public health significance, and we recommend immediate and thorough followup of family members of cancer cases.