Dataset Information

Risk of Sex-Specific Cancers in Opposite-Sex and Same-Sex Twins in Denmark and Sweden.

ABSTRACT: Increasing evidence shows that some cancers originate in utero. It is hypothesized that elevated exposure to some steroid hormones might increase cancer risk and that hormone transfer between twin fetuses could result in different prenatal exposure to testosterone.This large-scale prospective twin study compared opposite-sex (OS) and same-sex (SS) twins to test the impact of intrauterine exposures on cancer risk. On the basis of the Danish and Swedish twin and cancer registries, we calculated incidence rate ratios for OS and SS twins, whereas standardized incidence ratios (SIR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for OS/SS twins compared with the general population.A total of 18,001 cancers were identified during 1943-2009. No significant differences were observed between OS and SS twins, neither for the sex-specific cancers nor for cancer at all sites. All-cause cancer was slightly reduced for OS and SS twins compared with the general population, significant for OS males (SIR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.92-0.98) and for SS males and females (SIR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.94-0.99).Our data suggest that having a male co-twin-which may entail higher exposure to prenatal testosterone-does not increase the risk of sex-specific cancers in OS females. Furthermore, the study supports that twinning per se is not a risk factor of cancer.Findings are reassuring, as they fail to provide evidence for the hypothesis that endocrine or other difference in the in utero milieu affects the risk of sex-specific cancers.

SUBMITTER: Ahrenfeldt LJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4782008 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Risk of Sex-Specific Cancers in Opposite-Sex and Same-Sex Twins in Denmark and Sweden.

Ahrenfeldt Linda J LJ Skytthe Axel A Möller Sören S Czene Kamila K Adami Hans-Olov HO Mucci Lorelei A LA Kaprio Jaakko J Petersen Inge I Christensen Kaare K Lindahl-Jacobsen Rune R

Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology 20150817 10

<h4>Background</h4>Increasing evidence shows that some cancers originate in utero. It is hypothesized that elevated exposure to some steroid hormones might increase cancer risk and that hormone transfer between twin fetuses could result in different prenatal exposure to testosterone.<h4>Methods</h4>This large-scale prospective twin study compared opposite-sex (OS) and same-sex (SS) twins to test the impact of intrauterine exposures on cancer risk. On the basis of the Danish and Swedish twin and ...[more]

PMID: 26282631

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Project description:Animal behaviours that are superficially similar can express different intents in different contexts, but how this flexibility is achieved at the level of neural circuits is not understood. For example, males of many species can exhibit mounting behaviour towards same- or opposite-sex conspecifics1, but it is unclear whether the intent and neural encoding of these behaviours are similar or different. Here we show that female- and male-directed mounting in male laboratory mice are distinguishable by the presence or absence of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs)2-4, respectively. These and additional behavioural data suggest that most male-directed mounting is aggressive, although in rare cases it can be sexual. We investigated whether USV+ and USV- mounting use the same or distinct hypothalamic neural substrates. Micro-endoscopic imaging of neurons positive for oestrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) in either the medial preoptic area (MPOA) or the ventromedial hypothalamus, ventrolateral subdivision (VMHvl) revealed distinct patterns of neuronal activity during USV+ and USV- mounting, and the type of mounting could be decoded from population activity in either region. Intersectional optogenetic stimulation of MPOA neurons that express ESR1 and vesicular GABA transporter (VGAT) (MPOAESR1∩VGAT neurons) robustly promoted USV+ mounting, and converted male-directed attack to mounting with USVs. By contrast, stimulation of VMHvl neurons that express ESR1 (VMHvlESR1 neurons) promoted USV- mounting, and inhibited the USVs evoked by female urine. Terminal stimulation experiments suggest that these complementary inhibitory effects are mediated by reciprocal projections between the MPOA and VMHvl. Together, these data identify a hypothalamic subpopulation that is genetically enriched for neurons that causally induce a male reproductive behavioural state, and indicate that reproductive and aggressive states are represented by distinct population codes distributed between MPOAESR1 and VMHvlESR1 neurons, respectively. Thus, similar behaviours that express different internal states are encoded by distinct hypothalamic neuronal populations.

Dataset Information

Risk of Sex-Specific Cancers in Opposite-Sex and Same-Sex Twins in Denmark and Sweden.

Publications

Risk of Sex-Specific Cancers in Opposite-Sex and Same-Sex Twins in Denmark and Sweden.

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