FAMILY STUDIES AND THE EVIDENCE FOR GENETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY TO PROSTATE-CANCER

Family studies of prostate canes in keeping with studies of many other common cancers, have shown an increased risk to relatives of cases ov er and above the general population. Male relatives of early onset pro state cancer cases are also at increased risk over relatives of later onset cases. These observations, together with a few families with fou r or more cases of prostate canes suggest that there is a high penetra nce, inherited form of this cancer Further evidence comes from the inc reased risk of prostate cancer in BRCA1 mutation carriers but more par ticularly from the recent report of the mapping of a prostate cancer s usceptibility gene to chromosome 1.