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Lung cancer - Can it be inherited?

  • June 17, 2015 4:12 PM EDT

    I now have three boxer siblings with lung cancer, with no history that I can ascertain, no smoking, no dog shows in years.  Can this be an inherited trait?

    • 34 posts
    June 17, 2015 5:38 PM EDT

    I’m sorry to hear this. There could be an underlying genetic trait in this particular family of dogs. Also, many cancers eventually show up in or arise in the lungs, so these could appear to be “lung” cancer but in fact be several different types of cancer. I’m not sure how much study was done of these dogs’ tumors, so it is hard to say. There could be a common unsuspected environmental exposure that could explain it as well.