Family history is an issue for African-Americans with prostate cancer

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

African-Americans with prostate cancer are more likely to have a family history of the disease than men without prostate cancer.
Genetics can always be a factor in cancer. In a new study, researchers at the University of Michigan reveal that African-American men with prostate cancer are more likely to report prostate cancer or breast cancer among their siblings than men who do not have prostate cancer.

The data come from the Flint Men's Health Study which is focused on African-American men aged 40-79. A group of 121 men with prostate cancer was asked about their family history of cancer, as were 179 men without prostate cancer. The men who had prostate cancer were 4.8 times more likely to report having a brother diagnosed with prostate cancer and four times more likely to report a sister with breast cancer. Previous work has shown that having a brother with prostate cancer does increase the risk for an individual man and this is greater than having a father or son with the disease. This is the first time that a link has been shown between sisters with breast cancer and prostate cancer risk among African-Americans. Therefore, collecting family history of cancer may be an important factor in deciding whether an African-American man is at increased risk of prostate cancer.

Source
Urology November 2006 Volume 68 Issue 5 pages 1072-1076

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