Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

TESTICULAR CANCER

Familial TGCT: polygenic aetiology advanced

A polygenic risk score (PRS) analysis reported that familial testicular germ cell tumours (TGCTs) were significantly enriched for TGCT risk alleles and that ≥84% were attributable to polygenic enrichment, supporting the polygenic aetiological basis of familial TGCT. Clinical application will first require improved TGCT screening and early detection tools.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Polygenic risk score distribution in sporadic and familial TGCT.

References

  1. Rapley, E. A. et al. Localization to Xq27 of a susceptibility gene for testicular germ-cell tumours. Nat. Genet. 24, 197–200 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Greene, M. H. et al. Familial testicular germ cell tumors (FTGCT) — overview of a multidisciplinary etiologic study. Andrology 3, 47–58 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Crockford, G. P. et al. Genome-wide linkage screen for testicular germ cell tumour susceptibility loci. Hum. Mol. Genet. 15, 443–451 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Litchfield, K. et al. Large-scale sequencing of testicular germ cell tumor cases excludes major TGCT cancer predisposition gene. Eur. Urol. 73, 828–831 (2018).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Litchfield, K. et al. Identification 19 new risk loci and potential regulatory mechanisms influencing susceptibility to testicular germ cell tumor. Nat. Genet. 49, 1133–1140 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Wang, Z. et al. Meta-analysis of five genome-wide association studies identifies multiple new loci associated with testicular germ cell tumor. Nat. Genet. 49, 1141–1147 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Litchfield, K. et al. Polygenic susceptibility to testicular cancer: implications for personalized health care. Br. J. Cancer 113, 1512–1518 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Loveday, C. et al. Large-scale analysis demonstrates familial testicular cancer to have polygenic etiology. Eur. Urol. 74, 248–252 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Rajpert-de Meyts, E. et al. Diagnostic markers for germ cell neoplasms: from placental-like alkaline phosphatase to micro-RNAs. Folia Histochem. Cytobiol. 53, 177–178 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Kratz, C. P. et al. A stratified genetic risk assessment for testicular cancer. Int. J. Androl. 34, e98–e102 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are deeply indebted to the members of families prone to testicular germ cell tumour for their invaluable contributions to our clinical research, which could not have been done without their selfless cooperation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mark H. Greene.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Related links

Testicular Cancer Consortium: http://www.tecac.org

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Greene, M.H., Pfeiffer, R.M. Familial TGCT: polygenic aetiology advanced. Nat Rev Urol 15, 665–666 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41585-018-0093-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41585-018-0093-y

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Cancer

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Cancer newsletter — what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Cancer