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. 1997 Dec 1;33(4):240-5.
doi: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0045(19971201)33:4<240::aid-pros3>3.0.co;2-l.

Heredity and prostate cancer: a study of World War II veteran twins

W F Page  1 , M M Braun, A W Partin, N Caporaso, P Walsh
Affiliations

Heredity and prostate cancer: a study of World War II veteran twins

W F Page et al. Prostate. .

Abstract

Background: Increased risk of prostate cancer among men with a family history of the disease has been observed in several epidemiological studies, and family studies have identified hereditary prostate cancer characterized by early onset and autosomal dominant inheritance.

Methods: In this study, we examine prostate cancer heritability among twins in the NAS-NRC Twin Registry, with cases ascertained from a number of sources: recent telephone interviews, Medicare and Department of Veterans Affairs hospitalizations, previous mail questionnaires, and death certificates. A total of 1,009 prostate cancer cases were identified among the cohort of 31,848 veteran twins born in the years 1917-1927.

Results: Probandwise concordance for prostate cancer was substantially higher among monozygous twin pairs, 27.1%, than among dizygous twin pairs, 7.1% (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: These data suggest that genetic influences account for approximately 57%, and environmental influences for 43%, of the variability in twin liability for prostate cancer.

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