Polymorphic variants in PTGS2 and prostate cancer risk: results from two large nested case-control studies
Kim N Danforth1, Richard B Hayes, Carmen Rodriguez
1Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD 20852, USA. danfortk@mail.nih.gov
Carcinogenesis
|November 15, 2007
Summary
This study found no strong link between PTGS2 gene variants and prostate cancer risk in non-Hispanic white men. Further research on inflammation and prostate cancer genetics is warranted.
Area of Science:
- Genetics and Cancer Epidemiology
- Molecular Biology and Disease Mechanisms
- Inflammation and Carcinogenesis
Background:
- Chronic inflammation is a suspected factor in prostate cancer development.
- Prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) is crucial for prostaglandin synthesis, a key inflammatory mediator.
- Understanding PTGS2 gene variants' role in prostate cancer is important for risk assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between PTGS2 gene polymorphisms and prostate cancer risk.
- To analyze five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes within the PTGS2 gene.
- To evaluate these associations in two large, independent case-control studies.
Main Methods:
- Case-control studies nested within the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial and the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort.
- Genotyping of five PTGS2 SNPs (rs5277, rs20432, rs4648276, rs5275, rs689470).
- Statistical analyses including SNP and haplotype analyses, with adjustments for multiple comparisons.
Main Results:
- No significant association was found between individual PTGS2 SNPs and prostate cancer risk in either cohort or pooled analysis.
- An initial association for the rs5275 marker in the PLCO cohort was not significant after multiple comparison adjustments.
- Haplotype analysis suggested a potential association in the PLCO cohort alone, but not in the Nutrition Cohort or pooled data.
Conclusions:
- The study does not support a strong association between PTGS2 variants and prostate cancer risk in non-Hispanic white men.
- Despite the theoretical role of inflammation in prostate cancer, PTGS2 genetic variations may not be a major risk factor in this population.
- Further investigation into the complex interplay of inflammation, genetics, and prostate cancer is needed.
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