It is estimated that around 30% of all malignancies are caused by a high-risk genetic predisposition [1]. This estimation is based on an evaluation of occurrence of disease among monozygotic twins. If one of them is affected with prostate (PC) or breast cancer (BC), then the probability of occurrence of this disease in the second sibling is 40% for PC and 30% for BC [2]. The concordance among monozygotic twins is even higher when occurrence of malignancies regardless of the site of origin is taken into consideration (e.g. breast cancer in one individual, stomach cancer in the sibling). Genetic susceptibility to cancer can be divided into monogenic and polygenic predisposition.
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Dębniak et al. (2008) studied this question.