The relationship between a family history of prostate cancer and age at diagnosis

It is well known that a family history of prostate cancer is associated with an increased risk for diagnosis. However, quantification of this risk is less well documented.

A recent study has analyzed data from the national Swedish Family-Cancer Database, which classifies patients according to the number and type of affected first-degree relatives (father or brother) and according to the relative’s age at diagnosis. Using data from this source, the study revealed that the cumulative incidence of prostate cancer was highest for men with multiple affected first-degree relatives, and it was higher for brothers than for sons of prostate cancer patients.

The study also revealed that the age to reach the same cumulative incidence as the general population at age 55 years varied slightly, decreasing with decreasing age at diagnosis of the relative, and ranged from 48.7 years (when the patient’s father was diagnosed at younger than 60 years of age) to 53.7 years (when the patient’s father was diagnosed at more than 82 years of age).

Apparently, in this population, prostate cancer-specific mortality was also related to the number and type of affected relatives – but there was no clear evidence for a dependency on the age at diagnosis of the relative.