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Ovarian, testicular cancers may have familial association
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Men with testicular cancer appeared more likely than those with other malignancies to have a mother with ovarian cancer, according to study results.
Researchers at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center investigated 31 families with a history of ovarian and testicular cancer from the Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry. The registry includes data for 2,636 families.
Investigators observed a statistically significant association between men with testicular cancer and mothers with ovarian cancer (OR=3.32; P=0.004).
In addition, sisters of men with testicular cancer appeared more likely to have ovarian cancer. Although no men with testicular cancer had a paternal grandmother with ovarian cancer, one-quarter of them had a maternal grandmother with ovarian cancer.
HemOnc Today spoke with John Lewis Etter, MPH, research associate at Roswell Park and MD/PhD student at University at Buffalo, and Kirsten Moysich, PhD, MS, distinguished professor of oncology in the department of cancer prevention and control and professor in the department of immunology at Roswell Park, about the findings and their potential implications.
Question: What prompted you to investigate th e association between testicular and ovarian cancers?
Moysich: Our group previously reported evidence for an X-linked ovarian cancer susceptibility gene variant that can be passed from father to daughter, and 12.5% of women with ovarian cancer in the Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry were carriers of this allele. Because of this, we were interested in investigating for an increased rate of cancers — specifically testicular cancers — among men in families from the registry.
Q: Can you elaborate on the sibling association between testicular and ovarian cancers, and what you think that association means?
Moysich: The observed sibling association provides further evidence for an association between familial ovarian and testicular cancers. At this time, further studies must be conducted to fully interpret what this association means.
Q: How about the fact that the association seemed to run through the materna l grandmother rather than the paternal grandmother?
Moysich: The observation that more maternal grandmothers of men with testicular cancer in the registry had ovarian cancer than paternal grandmothers is consistent with the hypothesis that the association between ovarian and testicular cancers is X-linked. A father cannot pass his X chromosome to his son; thus, a grandson can never inherit his paternal grandmother’s X-chromosome. If the association is indeed X-linked, we would expect to observe less ovarian cancer among paternal grandmothers of men with testicular cancer.
Q: What is the potential impact of these findings on clinical practice?
Etter: The results from this study provide preliminary evidence for an association between familial ovarian and testicular cancers. If these results are corroborated in future studies, they may help shape new guidelines for counseling male family members in families with multiple cases of ovarian cancer. Genetic studies also may offer insight into the etiology of these diseases, as well as targets for potential screening and therapies. Also, if substantiated, our results may translate into more aggressive screening for testicular cancer among young men with a strong family history of ovarian cancer.
Q: Where will the research go next?
Etter: We have begun targeted enrollment of families with cases of both ovarian and testicular cancer into the Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry. We will conduct further studies to better understand the genetic basis of the observed association with the goal of identifying a gene target for screening and therapy. Also, what is important about this work is that we are the first to uncover this link because we oversee this unique registry that collects detailed cancer history information that is not captured in any traditional cancer population science study. – by Rob Volansky
Reference:
Etter JL, et al. Cancer Epidemiol. 2018;doi:10.1016/j.canep.2018.02.005.
For more information:
Kirsten Moysich, PhD, can be reached at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Elm and Carlton streets, Buffalo, NY 14263; email: moysich@roswellpark.org.
John Etter, MPH, can be reached at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Elm and Carlton streets, Buffalo, NY 14263.
Disclosures: Etter and Moysich report no relevant financial disclosures.