Prostate cancer is said to be partly hereditary

Prostate cancer is partly hereditary, according to a study by the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg.

(26.04.2010)Prostate cancer is partly hereditary, according to a study by the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg. This means that people have a higher disease risk if several relatives already had prostate cancer. 26,671 patients with prostate cancer were observed in the study. 5623 patients came from families in which prostate cancer had already occurred.

For example, according to scientists in the study headed by Kari Hemminki, men over the age of 65, with three brothers with prostate cancer, are 23 times more likely to have prostate cancer than men without previous relatives. According to the study, the risk increases significantly, the more relatives were already ill at a young age. The German Cancer Research Center points out that men whose prostate cancer was more common in their relatives should attend their family doctor for screening tests. Carcinoma of the prostate is a disease that unfortunately occurs more frequently as men age. For example, about 70 percent of men with prostate cancer are between 60 and 79 years old. (Sb)

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