Characterizing Genetic Risk at Known Prostate Cancer Susceptibility Loci in African Americans
2011

Genetic Risk Factors for Prostate Cancer in African Americans

Sample size: 6715 publication 10 minutes Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Haiman Christopher A., Chen Gary K., Blot William J., Strom Sara S., Berndt Sonja I., Kittles Rick A., Rybicki Benjamin A., Isaacs William B., Ingles Sue A., Stanford Janet L., Diver W. Ryan, Witte John S., Chanock Stephen J., Kolb Suzanne, Signorello Lisa B., Yamamura Yuko, Neslund-Dudas Christine, Thun Michael J., Murphy Adam, Casey Graham, Sheng Xin, Wan Peggy, Pooler Loreall C., Monroe Kristine R., Waters Kevin M., Le Marchand Loic, Kolonel Laurence N., Stram Daniel O., Henderson Brian E.

Primary Institution: University of Southern California

Hypothesis

Can known prostate cancer risk variants identified in European and Asian populations also contribute to prostate cancer risk in African American men?

Conclusion

The study found that many known prostate cancer risk variants are also associated with increased risk in African American men, with some variants showing stronger associations than previously reported.

Supporting Evidence

  • Approximately half of the tested risk variants were replicated in African American men.
  • Fine-mapping identified additional risk variants that better define associations in African Americans.
  • Variants at 8q24 were found to be particularly significant for prostate cancer risk in African Americans.

Takeaway

Researchers looked at genes that might make African American men more likely to get prostate cancer and found that many of the same genes linked to prostate cancer in other groups also apply to them.

Methodology

The study involved testing 49 known prostate cancer risk variants in a large sample of African American men, using genome-wide association studies and fine-mapping techniques.

Potential Biases

Potential bias may arise from the population structure and genetic ancestry differences between African Americans and other populations.

Limitations

The study may not capture all genetic variants associated with prostate cancer risk due to limited power in some regions and the potential for unmeasured confounding factors.

Participant Demographics

The study included 3,425 African American prostate cancer cases and 3,290 controls, with ages ranging from 23 to 95 years.

Statistical Information

P-Value

p≤6×10−4

Confidence Interval

95% CI varies by variant

Statistical Significance

p≤0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1371/journal.pgen.1001387

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