Genetic susceptibility to prostate cancer in Taiwan: A genome-wide association study

We conducted the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) of prostate cancer (PCa) in Taiwan with 1844 cases and 80,709 controls. Thirteen independent single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) reached genome-wide significance (p < 5 × 10^-8 ). Among these, three were distinct from previously identified loci: rs76072851 in CORO2B gene (15q23), odds ratio (OR) = 1.54, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.36-1.76, p = 5.30 × 10^-11 ; rs7837051, near two long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) genes, PRNCR1 and PCAT2 (8q24.21), OR = 1.41 (95% CI, 1.31-1.51), p = 8.77 × 10^-21 ; and rs56339048, near an lncRNA gene, CASC8 (8q24.21), OR = 1.25 (95% CI, 1.16-1.35), p = 2.14 × 10^-8 . We refined the lead SNPs for two previously identified SNPs in Taiwanese: rs13255059 (near CASC8), p = 9.02 × 10^-43 , and rs1456315 (inside PRNCR1), p = 4.33 × 10^-42 . We confirmed 35 out of 49 GWAS-identified East Asian PCa susceptibility SNPs. In addition, we identified two SNPs more specific to Taiwanese than East Asians: rs34295433 in LAMC1 (1q25.3) and rs6853490 in PDLIM5 (4q22.3). A weighted genetic risk score (GRS) was developed using the 40 validated SNPs and the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve for the GRS to predict PCa was 0.67 (95% CI, 0.63-0.71). These identified SNPs provide valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms of prostate carcinogenesis in Taiwan and underscore the significant role of genetic susceptibility in regional differences in PCa incidence.