The prevalence of positive family history of malignancy among patients with gynecologic cancers in the Kingdom of Bahrain: a retrospective cross-sectional study

Introduction: The most common gynecologic cancers are cervical, endometrial and ovarian. Endometrial and ovarian cancer are known to be associated with family history of malignancy. This study aims to explore the prevalence of positive family history of malignancy among patients with different gynecologic cancers in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study reviewing the family history of malignancy of all gynecologic oncology cases following up in King Hamad University Hospital (KHUH) and Bahrain Oncology Center (BOC) over 5 years, from 2016 until 2020.

Results: A total of 216 women with various types of gynecologic cancer, were included. The most prevalent cancer was endometrial (50.5%), followed by ovarian and cervical cancers. 52 cases (24.1%) had a positive family history of different types of cancers (p=0.2), and 20 patients (9.3%) had a positive family history of breast cancer (p=0.02).

Conclusion: Family history is an important risk factor especially in endometrial and ovarian cancer. Accordingly, determining the family history of malignancy can help guide screening of gynecologic cancer thus attributing to early detection and better management.