Evidence of an X-linked or recessive genetic component to prostate cancer risk
Kristine R. Monroe1, Mimi C. Yu1, Laurence N. Kolonel3, Gerhard A. Coetzee2, Lynne R. Wilkens3, Ronald K. Ross1
& Brian E. Henderson1, 4
1Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California School of Medicine, 1420 San Pablo Street PMB-B307, Los Angeles, California 90033, USA
2Department of Urology, University of Southern California School of Medicine, 1420 San Pablo Street PMB-B307, Los Angeles, California 90033, USA
3Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813, USA
4Correspondence should be addressed to B.E.H.
We used data from a population-based cohort study of blacks, Hispanics, Japanese and whites to examine the frequency of prevalent prostate and breast cancer by family history status of first-degree relatives (parents and siblings). Independent of race, the age-adjusted relative risk for prevalent prostate cancer in subjects with affected brothers was approximately two times that in subjects with affected fathers (P < 0.00005). No such excess risk for breast cancer was observed among subjects with affected sisters compared to those with affected mothers (age- and race-adjusted relative risk = 1.10, P= 0.34). The magnitude of the relative risk for prostate cancer in sibling-versus parent-affected groups was significantly different from that of the comparable relative risk for breast cancer (P < 0.00005). An excess risk of prostate cancer in men with affected brothers compared to those with affected fathers is consistent with the hypothesis of an X-linked, or recessive, model of inheritance.
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