Surname as 'cancer risk' in extreme isolates: Example from the island of Lastovo, Croatia

Citation
I. Rudan et al., Surname as 'cancer risk' in extreme isolates: Example from the island of Lastovo, Croatia, COLL ANTROP, 23(2), 1999, pp. 557-569
Citations number
7
Categorie Soggetti
Sociology & Antropology
Journal title
COLLEGIUM ANTROPOLOGICUM
ISSN journal
03506134 → ACNP
Volume
23
Issue
2
Year of publication
1999
Pages
557 - 569
Database
ISI
SICI code
0350-6134(199912)23:2<557:SA'RIE>2.0.ZU;2-7
Abstract
The aim of this study was to analyze whether there are surnames which appea r more frequently among the ancestors of cancer cases in a small isolate, i n comparison to the ancestral surnames of the healthy controls, using the c lassic case-control design. The chosen setting was the island of Lastovo, C roatia, located more than 100 Kilometers from the nearest coastal region. T he period of study was 1970-1995, during which a total of 76 cancer cases w ere recorded in a population of approximately 800. The comparison of surnam e frequencies was performed in current and in five ancestral generations. T he leading hypothesis was that, if inbreeding and common ancestry contribut ed to the development of the disease, then those phenomena should be reflec ted in, increasing frequency of some surnames among ancestors, identifying the 'hidden' consanguinity, or 'following' cancer-promoting genes on the Y- chromosome. The results imply that there are surnames representing a classi c "risk" for cancer but also those "protecting" from its development, which all underscores the importance of founder effect and genetic predispositio n to the disease in a small, reproductively isolated population. All of the results become more evident and increasingly significant when analyzed in more distant ancestral generations.