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Younger age-at-diagnosis for familial malignant testicular germ cell tumor

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Abstract

One of the clinical hallmarks of hereditary cancer susceptibility disorders is a younger-than-usual age at diagnosis. Familial aggregation of testicular germ cell tumor (TGCT) has been reported, but data on whether familial TGCT cases are diagnosed at an earlier age are inconclusive. Here we compared the age at diagnosis of familial TGCT cases with that of population cases in several countries. Familial TGCT is defined as affected individuals from families with ≥2 cases of TGCT. Age at diagnosis of familial cases from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, Norway, and Hungary was compared to cases identified in population-based cancer registries from the respective country, using the generalized estimation equation method. Age at diagnosis was statistically significantly younger for familial TGCT cases from North America (P = 0.024), the United Kingdom (P < 0.0001), and Australia and New Zealand (P = 0.0033) compared with population cases. When stratified by histology, the difference in age at diagnosis distribution between familial and population cases was observed for seminoma cases from North America (P = 0.002) and the United Kingdom (P < 0.0001) and non-seminoma cases from the United Kingdom (P = 0.029) and Australia and New Zealand (P = 0.0023). In summary, we found that the age at diagnosis for familial TGCT cases is, on the average, 2–3 years younger than that for the population cases in North America, United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand. The younger age at diagnosis might be suggestive of a genetic basis for familial TGCT.

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Abbreviations

ITCLC:

International testicular cancer linkage consortium

TGCT:

Testicular germ cell tumor

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr. Parry Guilford for his contribution to the familial TGCT cases. We also thank Istvan Gaudi (Cancer Registry of National Institute of Oncology, Budapest, Hungary) and Sue Westlake (Social & Health Analysis & Reporting Division, Office for National Statistics, UK) for their contribution from the cancer registries. This research was funded in part by the Intramural Research Program of the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, and supported by contracts N02-CP-11019 and N02-CP-65504 with Westat, Incorporated. The authors have no conflict of interest or financial disclosures to report.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Genetics Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, 6120 Executive Blvd EPS/7022, Rockville, MA, 20852, USA

    Phuong L. Mai, Larissa Korde & Mark H. Greene

  2. NCIC, Clinical Trials Group, Queen’s University, 10 Stuart Street, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada

    Bingshu E. Chen

  3. Department of Medical Oncology, Division of Medicine, Prince of Wales Hospital, University of New South Wales, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia

    Kathy Tucker & Michael Friedlander

  4. Department of Haematology and Medical Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, St Andrew’s Place, East Melbourne, VIC, 3002, Australia

    Kelly-Anne Phillips

  5. Princess Margaret Hospital, University of Toronto, 610 University Ave, Toronto, ON, M5G 2M9, Canada

    David Hogg & Michael A. S. Jewett

  6. Department of Chemotherapy and Molecular Genetics, National Institute of Oncology, Rath Gyorgy u. 7-9, 1122, Budapest, Hungary

    Istvan Bodrogi, Lajos Geczi & Edith Olah

  7. Department of Clinical Cancer Research, Rikshospitalet-Radiumhospitalet University Hospital, 0027, Oslo, Norway

    Ketil Heimdal & Sophie D. Fosså

  8. Department Medical Genetics, Rikshospitalet-Radiumhospitalet University Hospital, 0027, Oslo, Norway

    Ketil Heimdal & Sophie D. Fosså

  9. Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 351 BRB 2/3, 421 Curie Blvd., Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Katherine L. Nathanson

  10. CRC Genetic Epidemiology Unit, Strangeways Research Laboratory, Worts Causeway, Cambridge, CB1 8RN, UK

    Douglas F. Easton

  11. Section of Cancer Genetics, Institute of Cancer Research, Brookes Lawley Building, Sutton, Surrey, SM2 5NG, UK

    Darshna Dudakia, Michael R. Stratton & Elizabeth A. Rapley

  12. Academic Radiotherapy Unit, Institute of Cancer Research, 15 Cotswold Rd, Belmont, Sutton, Surrey, SM2 5NG, UK

    Robert Huddart

  13. Imperial Cancer Research Fund Genetic Epidemiology Lab, St. James’s University Hospital, Ashley Wing, Beckett Street, Leeds, LS9 7TF, UK

    D. Timothy Bishop

Authors
  1. Phuong L. Mai
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  2. Bingshu E. Chen
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  3. Kathy Tucker
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  4. Michael Friedlander
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  5. Kelly-Anne Phillips
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  6. David Hogg
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  7. Michael A. S. Jewett
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  8. Istvan Bodrogi
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  9. Lajos Geczi
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  10. Edith Olah
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  11. Ketil Heimdal
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  12. Sophie D. Fosså
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  13. Katherine L. Nathanson
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  14. Larissa Korde
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  15. Douglas F. Easton
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  16. Darshna Dudakia
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  17. Robert Huddart
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  18. Michael R. Stratton
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  19. D. Timothy Bishop
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  20. Elizabeth A. Rapley
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  21. Mark H. Greene
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Correspondence to Phuong L. Mai.

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Mai, P.L., Chen, B.E., Tucker, K. et al. Younger age-at-diagnosis for familial malignant testicular germ cell tumor. Familial Cancer 8, 451–456 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10689-009-9264-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10689-009-9264-6

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