If one twin gets cancer, will the twin follow? & bull; hello healthy

Do you have twins? Or even have a twin? Twins are often equated in many ways, not just the same clothes, the same bag, or various other items. Not only that, many say that twins have a strong bond with each other. When the twin feels sad or angry, he will feel something. But is it true that when one of the twins feels pain, the other twin will feel the same pain? What if the twin has cancer? Will he get the same cancer because he has the same genes?

The following is an explanation related to research examining cancer that occurs in one of the twins.

Twins are at risk of developing the same cancer

There are two types of twins, namely identical twins and non-identical twins. Identical twins have very similar physical appearances, so it is difficult for people to tell the difference between the two. Whereas in non-identical twins, the physical appearance is not too similar so that it is easy to distinguish. Recently, a study conducted by researchers from Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, if one twin has cancer, it is not impossible that the other twin can also develop cancer.

This research is reported in The Journal of The American Medical Association , involving as many as 80 thousand identical twins and 123 thousand non-identical twins, and was carried out in 4 countries, namely Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Researchers conducted research and followed these twins for a period of 32 years, from 1943 to 2010.

From this study it is known that if one of the identical twins develops cancer, then the other twin has a 14% risk of developing cancer. Meanwhile, non-identical twins only have a 5% chance of developing cancer. Not only that, the results showed 20 of 23 types of cancer studied, if one of the twins has a certain type of cancer, then the twin has a 2 times higher risk of developing the same type of cancer, even with a higher stage. This is evident in types of cancer such as prostate cancer, skin cancer, breast cancer, uterine cancer, and ovarian or ovarian cancer.

Is it all due to genetic factors?

A pair of twins actually "share" the genes in their body. In identical twins, they share almost all of their genes, so that the genes possessed by these twins are the same. While twins are not identical, they only share half of their total genes, causing them to be almost the same as siblings who are brothers but not twins. Genetic factors may contribute to the occurrence of cancer with a risk of 30 to 60 percent, including prostate cancer, uterine cancer, breast cancer, testicular cancer, kidney cancer, and skin cancer.

However, researchers concluded that many factors can cause cancer that occurs in twins. Not only genetic factors that affect and increase cancer, but also several factors such as lifestyle and environmental factors. Lifestyle factors can be used as an excuse because twins are likely to have the same lifestyle. Either that, choosing the same food, the same upbringing, and adopting the same lifestyle.

For example, when a twin who smokes and then develops lung cancer as a result of this habit. It does not rule out the possibility that the twin can develop lung cancer as well as a result of smoking or if he doesn't smoke, he often inhales cigarette smoke which can also cause lung cancer. While he also has a greater risk of developing cancer due to genetic factors compared to people who do not have cancerous twins.

Indeed, insufficient scientific evidence has emerged regarding the relationship of twins to cancer. Therefore, research involving twins needs to be done further because it is very important to understand. By conducting research like this, researchers can find out the relationship between genes and various degenerative diseases such as cancer.