Cancer in twins of Wilms tumor patients.
We interviewed families of 71 patients registered in the National Wilms Tumor Study and identified as having a twin sibling. Questions concerning zygosity and the occurrence of congenital anomalies and other forms of cancer in the twins were asked. Of the 71 twin pairs, 35 were dizygotic, 31 were monozygotic, and 5 were of unknown zygosity. The only pair concordant for Wilms tumor was dizygotic, leading to a heritability estimate of zero. In a monozygotic pair, one twin was diagnosed with Wilms tumor and the other with medulloblastoma. The estimated relative risk of Wilms tumor and childhood cancer in the co-twin was 250 times and 10 times the population rate, respectively. Four discordant pairs had a family history of Wilms tumor, suggesting that the penetrance of the condition is not complete. Because of the small sample size, caution should be exercised in the interpretation of these results.
Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.
J M
JM
Olson
N E
NE
Breslow
J
J
Barce
D001506:Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004200:Diseases in Twins; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007021:Hypospadias / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D007223:Infant; D007668:Kidney / Q000002:abnormalities; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008527:Medulloblastoma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D012307:Risk Factors; D014429:Twins, Dizygotic; D014430:Twins, Monozygotic; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D009396:Wilms Tumor / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*