I chose to have a blood test for early prostate cancer detection for several reasons: African-American men face a higher risk, the disease runs in my family, and I am convinced that the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test lowers the chance of dying from prostate cancer.
Today we look at a recent study examining risk among men whose families carry a history of breast or prostate cancer. It is already established that women with a family history of prostate cancer face a higher breast cancer risk. Prostate cancer ranks among the most heritable cancers, yet few studies have explored how it links to breast or prostate cancer within a family.
The Study
Investigators carried out a prospective study of 37,002 American men enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Over a 16-year follow-up period ending in 2012, 4,208 total cases and 344 lethal cases were diagnosed. Here is what they found:
The Findings
Men with familial breast cancer showed a 21% higher overall prostate cancer risk and a 34% higher risk of lethal disease. A family history of prostate cancer by itself was tied to a 68% greater risk of total disease and a 72% greater risk of lethal disease. Men whose families carried a history of both cancers were also at elevated risk.
My Thoughts
This research showed that men with a family history of breast or prostate cancer faced higher prostate cancer risks, including the risk of lethal disease. These results matter for predicting cancer risk in men: ask your doctor whether you should be screened for cancer.
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I earned my undergraduate degree at Harvard, my medical degree at Yale, and finished a radiation oncology residency at the University of Pennsylvania. I have been honored to be named a “top doctor” by Seattle Magazine, US News & World Report, Seattle Metropolitan Magazine, 425 Magazine, and WA magazine. Readers of the Kirkland Advertiser have voted me the top doctor (in any field) in the region on multiple occasions. I care for people with cancer at Evergreen Hospital, just outside Seattle. And now the small print: Nothing provided here should replace the sound judgment of your trusted health care provider. Thank you.
http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2018/08/04/1078-0432.CCR-18-0370?rss=1
