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

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.