Gene Variations Influence Risk of Prostate Cancer

Researchers have found that variations in the CYP1B1 gene influence the likelihood of an individual to develop prostate cancer.

CYP1B1 was considered to be a candidate gene for various cancers because of its function in activating environmental procarcinogens and catalyzing the conversion of estrogens to genotoxic catechol estrogens. Investigators at Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, NC, USA; www.wfu.edu) and Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD, USA; www.jhu.edu) compared the allele, genotype, and haplotype frequencies of 13 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of CYP1B1 among 159 hereditary prostate cancer (HPC) patients, 245 sporadic prostate cancer cases, and 222 unaffected men.

They reported in the October 20, 2003, issue of the British Journal of Cancer that one frequent haplotype (C-G-C-C-G of -1001C/T, -263G/A, -13C/T, +142C/G, and +355G/T) was associated with an increased risk for prostate cancer, while the other frequent haplotype (T-A-T-G-T) was associated with a decreased risk.

"Previous research suggests prostate cancer arises in certain individuals due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors,” explained senior author Dr. Jianfeng Xu, associate professor of cancer biology at Wake Forest University. "Our study suggests that the genetic make-up of some men leaves them more susceptible to potential carcinogens in the environment or hormones in the body that could trigger the disease.”




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Wake Forest University
Johns Hopkins University