Other highlights in the January 3 JNCI

Sunitinib was recently approved for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma. A common side effect of the drug is fatigue, and abnormal thyroid function can cause weakness and fatigue. Brian I. Rini, M.D., of the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center, and colleagues decided to measure thyroid function in patients taking sunitinib. They reviewed medical records of 66 patients treated in clinical trials of the drug for whom thyroid function tests were available. Fifty-six (85 percent) of the patients had one or more thyroid function blood test abnormalities, and 47 of those patients had clinical signs or symptoms of hypothyroidism. In 17 patients, doctors attempted to correct the hypothyroidism using thyroid replacement hormones, and symptoms improved in 9 of those patients. Routine monitoring of thyroid function blood tests is warranted in patients with renal cell carcinoma taking sunitinib, the authors conclude.

Contact: Erinne Dyer, Cleveland Clinic, 216-444-8168,

Study Suggests Role for Y Chromosome in Prostate Cancer
A new study finds that, among a group of men in Israel, men with only daughters had a 40 percent higher risk of prostate cancer than men with at least one son. The study raises the possibility that some mutation or variant on the Y chromosome may be involved in prostate cancer.

Although several studies have identified risk factors for prostate cancer and found some gene mutations that are associated with the disease, none of these can account for large numbers of prostate cancer cases. Some studies have suggested that prostate cancer risk may be associated with alterations on the X or Y chromosomes.

Because alterations on the sex chromosomes might affect the probability of having sons or daughters, Susan Harlap, M.D., of Columbia University in New York, decided to study cancer incidence and offspring among men participating in the Jerusalem Perinatal Study. During the study period, 712 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer. Compared with men who had at least one son, men with only daughters had a 40 percent increased risk of prostate cancer. Men with no daughters had no increase or decrease in prostate cancer risk compared with men with offspring of both sexes.