Cancer in the mothers and siblings of testicular cancer patients.
Some families seem to have an increased risk of several different cancers and a reduced risk of others. Either genetic predisposition or a shared environment may explain this familial clustering, and the type of cause can affect how family members should be advised. We used data from a case-control study to examine the risk of cancer in the mother, sisters and brothers of men with testicular cancer. Our results show a significant relative risk (RR=1.7; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05-2.6) of cancer for sisters of testicular cancer patients in comparison with the sisters of controls. When data were combined for brothers and sisters, the RR for all cancers was 1.53 (CI: 1.1-2.3). Despite the limitations of our data, there is evidence for cancer clustering in the families of testicular cancer patients. Unfortunately, the evidence is consistent with either a genetic or environmental etiology.
Bajdik
C D
CD
Cancer Control Research, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Phillips
N
N
Huchcroft
S
S
Hill
G B
GB
Gallagher
R P
RP
D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012306:Risk; D013736:Testicular Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*