# GENETIC EPIDEMIOLOGY OF MALE AND FEMALE BREAST CANCER

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF TX MD ANDERSON CAN CTR · 1989 · $130,377

## Abstract

That breast cancer may aggregate in families has been amply demonstrated
during the past half century.  A family history of the disease is also a
well-accepted risk factor, capable of increasing the risk two- to
three-fold in first-degree relatives of patients compared with control
relatives.  Not so well-accepted, however, is the etiological basis of
familial aggregation.  Because of the frequency of breast cancer in the
population some contend that familial aggregation is a chance phenomenon.
Others ascribe it to the inheritance of genetic factors and still others to
the transmission of cultural practices.  The aim of the present proposal is
to determine whether familial aggregation in an unselected series of
families is best explained by the transmission of a major gene, a
transmissible multifactorial component acting alone or in concert with a
major gene, or by an independent environmental contribution.  Segregation
analysis under a mixed model will be applied to three data sets:  the
families of 267 unselected female breast cancer patients, the families of
133 consecutive breast cancer patients with bilateral disease, and the
families of 133 unselected male breast cancer patients.  This represents
the first application of segregation analysis to a large series of
unselected pedigrees from the United States and the first application to
families of male and bilateral patients.  Little is known about the
familiality of male breast cancer.  Although it is rare, there is evidence
to suggest that males with breast cancer have inherited a high liability to
the disease; if so, then their female relatives would be expected to
represent a genetically high-risk group.  The relatives of bilateral
patients may be similar in this regard.  The use of three independent data
sets will increase the power to resolve the question of the cause(s)
underlying the familial aggregation of breast cancer, and whether the
cause(s) are the same or different in the three familial groups.  The
analysis will also generate empiric and analytic recurrence risks.  The
project will thus have practical relevance to genetic counseling and early
detection, as well as providing insight into the mechanisms underlying
familial breast cancer.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3179792
- **Project number:** 5R01CA040173-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TX MD ANDERSON CAN CTR
- **SAM.gov UEI:** S3GMKS8ELA16
- **Principal Investigator:** DAVID E ANDERSON
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1989
- **Award amount:** $130,377
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1986-05-01 → 1991-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3179792

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3179792, GENETIC EPIDEMIOLOGY OF MALE AND FEMALE BREAST CANCER (5R01CA040173-04). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3179792. Licensed CC0.

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