From Hazard Rate to Age-at-Onset Distribution: Mind the Gap

A recent study published in the journal claimed that genetic susceptibility to breast cancer occurs mainly due to rare inherited variants. The claim relies on a set of deductive arguments following observations on patterns of age-at-onset distribution of the disease among twin pairs. In this brief commentary, we point out a major gap in the given argument due to the interchangeable use of hazard rates and age-at-onset distribution, and thus conclude that the published study does not provide any evidence against polygenic risk of breast cancer due to common variants.

See related article by Yasui et al., p. 1518