The discipline of genetic epidemiology pertains to the vertical transmission of the susceptibility (predisposition) to a complex disease in a structured population. This statement meets halfway 1 the broad definitiongiven by N. E. Morton and S. c. Chung in 1978 2 and the concise one given by M. -C. King et al. in 1984. 1t pinpoints the fundamental genetic hypothesis, namely, the existence of an inherited condition that predisposes an individual to a specific disease, and the corresponding subject ofinvestigation, the family. Thus, the genetic epidemiological situation consists of three basic...

The writing of this monograph was stimulated on the one hand by experience gained in the study of "cancer families," and on the other, by the frequent perplexed and bewildered comments made by numerous physicians who have expressed amaze- ment that we could think that "cancer is hereditary." In reviewing the world literature it became immediately apparent that no compendium on the subject of cancer genetics was available to the physician or research scientist. Therefore this monograph has been written for the following reasons: 1) To illuminate the problem for those who may have missed or...

Since the success in chemical induction of cancer in rabbit's ear skin by K. Yamagiwa in 1915, oncologists of the world have come to believe that they can only solve their problems by means of animal experimen tation. The importance of environmental factors became moreevident in 1935 when T. Yoshida and T. Sasaki introduced azodye hepatocarcino genesis in rats. In the domain of the gastrointestinal tract, T. Sugimura has more recently accumulated enough evidence to indicate that locally active chemical mutagens are carcinogenic. In contrast, principal approaches to colorectal tumors have been...