title: Coefficients of relationship by isonymy among Scottish males with early and late onset cancers.
abstract: Studies of certain cancers suggest that early onset cases tend to have a more pronounced hereditary component than late onset cases. We have analysed data from 60,924 Scottish males with cancer of the stomach, colon, rectum, prostate or bladder, using the coefficient of relationship by isonymy to compare patients whose age at registration was below the median with those whose age at registration was equal to or above the median. There was no evidence for greater isonymy in younger patients suggesting that, although known genetically determined cancers may have earlier onset than other cancers at the same site, early age at onset is not widely associated with a familial predisposition to malignancy.
authors.affiliation: Human Genetics Unit, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Holloway
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Sofaer
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009275:Names; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*