Family history is significantly associated with prostate cancer and its early onset in Chinese population

Background: Family history (FH) of prostate cancer (PCa) in Chinese population is poorly understood. The objective of this study is to evaluate the association between FH and PCa in a Chinese biopsy cohort.

Methods: Consecutive patients who received 10 to 12 core systematic prostate biopsies from April 2013 to October 2018 in three medical centers were enrolled in this study. Demographic information and clinical information were obtained through prebiopsy questionnaire, including cancer FH, age, and total prostate-specific antigen (tPSA).

Results: Of 2321 patients, 83 (3.6%) were reported a FH of PCa. The positive biopsy rate in these patients was 54.2%, significantly higher than the patients without the family history of PCa (42.6%; relative risk [RR] = 1.27; P = .024). In patients with positive FH of breast cancer gene (BRCA)-related cancers (breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer, n = 154), 74 (48.1%) were diagnosed as PCa, higher than those without FH (42.7%; RR = 1.13; P = .112). Multivariate logistic regression analysis (after adjusting for age and tPSA values) showed that there was 2.1-fold increased risk of PCa in patients with positive FH of PCa (P = .005), and 1.6-fold increased risk in patients with positive FH of BRCA-related cancers (P = .019). However, there was no significant association between FH of PCa or BRCA-related cancer and high-grade PCa after adjusting age and tPSA level (P = .404 for PCa, P = 0.991 for BRCA-related cancers).

Conclusions: Patients with positive FH of PCa had 2.1-fold higher risk of PCa, and patients with positive FH of BRCA-related cancers had 1.6-fold higher risk in this biopsy cohort of Chinese population. Patients with positive FH of PCa or BRCA-related cancers would have earlier age at onset of PCa.