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Identification of specific Y chromosomes associated with increased prostate cancer risk
Lisa A Cannon-Albright1, James M Farnham, Matthew Bailey
1Division of Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah; George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salt Lake City, Utah; Huntsman Cancer Institute, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Background:
Evidence supports the possibility of a role of the Y chromosome in prostate cancer, but controversy exists.
Methods:
A novel analysis of a computerized population-based resource linking genealogy and cancer data was used to test the hypothesis of a role of the Y chromosome in prostate cancer predisposition. Using a statewide cancer registry from 1966 linked to a computerized genealogy representing over 1.2 million descendants of the Utah pioneers, 1,000 independent sets of males, each set hypothesized to share the same Y chromosome as represented in genealogy data, were tested for a significant excess of prostate cancer.
Results:
Multiple Y chromosomes representing thousands of potentially at-risk males were identified to have a significant excess risk for prostate cancer.
Conclusions:
This powerful and efficient in silico test of an uncommon mode of inheritance has confirmed evidence for Y chromosome involvement in prostate cancer.
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