Association of HPC2/ELAC2 genotypes and prostate cancer

HPC2/ELAC2 has been identified as a prostate cancer (CaP) susceptibility gene. Two common missense variants in HPC2/ELAC2 have been identified: a Ser-->Leu change at amino acid 217, and an Ala-->Thr change at amino acid 541. Tavtigian et al. reported that these variants were associated with CaP in a sample of men drawn from families with hereditary CaP. To confirm this report in a sample unselected for family history, we studied 359 incident CaP case subjects and 266 male control subjects that were frequency matched for age and race and were identified from a large health-system population. Among control subjects, the Thr541 frequency was 2.9%, and the Leu217 frequency was 31.6%, with no significant differences in frequency across racial groups. Thr541 was only observed in men who also carried Leu217. The probability of having CaP was increased in men who carried the Leu217/Thr541 variants (odds ratio = 2.37; 95% CI 1.06-5.29). This risk did not differ significantly by family history or race. Genotypes at HPC2/ELAC2 were estimated to cause 5% of CaP in the general population of inference. These results suggest that common variants at HPC2/ELAC2 are associated with CaP risk in a sample unselected for family history or other factors associated with CaP risk.