Faculty Bibliography

Nitric oxide (NO) induces cytotoxicity and angiogenesis, and may play a role in prostate carcinogenesis, potentially modulated by environmental exposures. We evaluated the association of prostate cancer with genetic polymorphisms in two genes related to intracellular NO: NOS2A [i-NOS; -2892T>C, Ex16+14C>T (S608L), IVS16+88T>G, and IVS20+524G>A] and NOS3 [e-NOS; IVS1-762C>T, Ex7-43C>T (D258D), IVS7-26A>G, Ex8-63G>T (E298D), and IVS15-62G>T]. Prostate cancer cases (n=1,320) from the screening arm of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial were frequency-matched to controls (n=1,842), by age, race, time since initial screening, and year of blood draw. An antioxidant score (range 3-12; low [3-7] vs. high [8-12]) was created by summing the quartile levels of vitamin E, beta-carotene, and lycopene, which were coded from 1 to 4, respectively. The global tests for all 8 SNPs (excluding NOS2 -2892T>C, with low minor allele frequency) were statistically significant for prostate cancer (P=0.005), especially for aggressive cancer (Stage III-IV or Gleason score>/=7) (P=0.01). The NOS2A IVS16+88 GT/TT was associated with increased prostate caner risk (OR=1.24, 95% CI=1.00-1.54), whereas the IVS20+524 AG/GG was associated with decreased risk (0.77, 0.66-0.90). The NOS3 IVS7-26 GG was associated with increased prostate caner risk (1.33, 1.07-1.64). All these SNPs showed significant associations with aggressive cancer and not for non-aggressive cancer. In the evaluation of effect modification, the effect of the NOS2A IVS16+88 GT/TT on aggressive cancer was stronger among subjects with higher antioxidant intake (1.61, 1.18-2.19; P(interaction)=0.01). Our results suggest that NOS gene polymorphisms are genetic susceptibility factors for aggressive prostate cancer

Sex hormones, particularly the androgens, are important for the growth of the prostate gland and have been implicated in prostate cancer carcinogenesis, yet the determinants of endogenous steroid hormone levels remain poorly understood. Twin studies suggest a heritable component for circulating concentrations of sex hormones, although epidemiologic evidence linking steroid hormone gene variants to prostate cancer is limited. Here we report on findings from a comprehensive study of genetic variation at the CYP19A1 locus in relation to prostate cancer risk and to circulating steroid hormone concentrations in men by the Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium (BPC3), a large collaborative prospective study. The BPC3 systematically characterized variation in CYP19A1 by targeted resequencing and dense genotyping; selected haplotype-tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (htSNP) that efficiently predict common variants in U.S. and European whites, Latinos, Japanese Americans, and Native Hawaiians; and genotyped these htSNPs in 8,166 prostate cancer cases and 9,079 study-, age-, and ethnicity-matched controls. CYP19A1 htSNPs, two common missense variants and common haplotypes were not significantly associated with risk of prostate cancer. However, several htSNPs in linkage disequilibrium blocks 3 and 4 were significantly associated with a 5% to 10% difference in estradiol concentrations in men [association per copy of the two-SNP haplotype rs749292-rs727479 (A-A) versus noncarriers; P = 1 x 10(-5)], and with inverse, although less marked changes, in free testosterone concentrations. These results suggest that although germline variation in CYP19A1 characterized by the htSNPs produces measurable differences in sex hormone concentrations in men, they do not substantially influence risk of prostate cancer

Alcohol and tobacco consumption are well-recognized risk factors for head and neck cancer (HNC). Evidence suggests that genetic predisposition may also play a role. Only a few epidemiologic studies, however, have considered the relation between HNC risk and family history of HNC and other cancers. We pooled individual-level data across 12 case-control studies including 8,967 HNC cases and 13,627 controls. We obtained pooled odds ratios (OR) using fixed and random effect models and adjusting for potential confounding factors. All statistical tests were two-sided. A family history of HNC in first-degree relatives increased the risk of HNC (OR=1.7, 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.2-2.3). The risk was higher when the affected relative was a sibling (OR=2.2, 95% CI 1.6-3.1) rather than a parent (OR=1.5, 95% CI 1.1-1.8) and for more distal HNC anatomic sites (hypopharynx and larynx). The risk was also higher, or limited to, in subjects exposed to tobacco. The OR rose to 7.2 (95% CI 5.5-9.5) among subjects with family history, who were alcohol and tobacco users. A weak but significant association (OR=1.1, 95% CI 1.0-1.2) emerged for family history of other tobacco-related neoplasms, particularly with laryngeal cancer (OR=1.3, 95% CI 1.1-1.5). No association was observed for family history of nontobacco-related neoplasms and the risk of HNC (OR=1.0, 95% CI 0.9-1.1). Familial factors play a role in the etiology of HNC. In both subjects with and without family history of HNC, avoidance of tobacco and alcohol exposure may be the best way to avoid HNC

Background:The relationship between prostate cancer and height is uncertain.Methods:We prospectively examined the association of height with prostate cancer among 34268 men in the prostate, lung, colorectal, and ovarian cancer trial. Anthropometry was assessed at baseline and 2144 incident prostate cancer cases were identified upto 8.9 years of follow-up.Results:Overall, tallness was not associated with the risk of prostate cancer or with the risk of non-aggressive disease, but the risk for aggressive prostate cancer tended to be greater in taller men (Gleason score >/=7 or stage >/=III; P trend=0.05; relative risk (RR) for 190 cm+ vs </=170 cm=1.39, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.96-2.01). This association was largely limited to men below the age of 65 years (P trend=0.008; RR for 190 cm+ vs </=170 cm=1.76, 95% CI: 1.06-2.93; P for interaction=0.009), although the number of cases was small and risk estimates were somewhat unstable.Conclusion:The results of this large prospective prostate cancer screening trial suggest that tallness is associated with increased risk for younger onset aggressive prostate cancer.British Journal of Cancer advance online publication, 30 June 2009; doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6605159 www.bjcancer.com

Twin studies suggest a heritable component to circulating sex steroid hormones and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). In the NCI-Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium, 874 SNPs in 37 candidate genes in the sex steroid hormone pathway were examined in relation to circulating levels of SHBG (N=4,720), testosterone (N=4,678), 3alpha-androstanediol-glucuronide (N=4,767), and 17beta-estradiol (N=2,014) in Caucasian men. rs1799941 in SHBG is highly significantly associated with circulating levels of SHBG (p=4.52x10(-21)), consistent with previous studies, and testosterone (p=7.54x10(-15)), with mean difference of 26.9% and 14.3% respectively, comparing wildtype to homozygous variant carriers. Further noteworthy novel findings were observed between SNPs in ESR1 with testosterone levels (rs722208, mean difference=8.8%, p=7.37x10(-6)) and SRD5A2 with 3alpha-androstanediol-glucuronide (rs2208532, mean difference=11.8%, p=1.82x10(-6)). Genetic variation in genes in the sex steroid hormone pathway is associated with differences in circulating SHBG and sex steroid hormones

We systematically investigated the association of 48 SNPS in four vitamin D metabolizing genes [CYP27A1, GC, CYP27B1 and CYP24A1] with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)(2)D] levels and the association of these SNPS and an additional 164 SNPS in eight downstream mediators of vitamin D signaling [VDR, RXRA, RXRB, PPAR, NCOA1, NCOA2, NCOA3 and SMAD3] with prostate cancer risk in the 749 incident prostate cancer cases and 781 controls of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial. 25(OH)D (all cases and controls) and 1,25(OH)(2)D (a subset of 150 controls) levels were measured by radioimmunoassay and SNP data were genotyped as part of a genome-wide scan. Among investigated SNPS, only four tag SNPS in GC, the major serum 25(OH)D carrier, were associated with 25(OH)D levels; no SNPS were associated with 1,25(OH)(2)D levels. None of the 212 SNPS examined were associated with cancer risk overall. Among men in the lowest tertile of serum 25(OH)D (<48.9 nmol/l), however, prostate cancer risk was related to tag SNPS in or near the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of VDR, with the strongest association for rs11574143 [odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for risk allele carriers versus wild-type: 2.49 (1.51-4.11), P = 0.0007]; the genotype associations were null among men in tertile 2 and tertile 3. Results from the most comprehensive evaluation of serum vitamin D and its related genes to date suggest that tag SNPS in the 3' UTR of VDR may be associated with risk of prostate cancer in men with low vitamin D status

Vitamin A (retinol) plays a key role in the regulation of cell growth and differentiation, and has been studied as a potential chemopreventive agent for prostate cancer. However, findings from epidemiologic studies on the association between circulating retinol concentrations and the risk of prostate cancer are inconsistent. We examined whether serum concentrations of retinol were associated with the risk of prostate cancer in a nested case-control study using 692 prostate cancer cases and 844 matched controls from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial. We estimated the risk of prostate cancer using multivariate, conditional logistic regression to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for overall prostate cancer and aggressive disease (stage III or IV or Gleason >7; n = 269). Serum retinol concentrations were not associated with overall prostate cancer risk; however, the highest versus lowest concentrations of serum retinol were associated with a 42% reduction in aggressive prostate cancer risk (P(trend) = 0.02), with the strongest inverse association for high-grade disease (Gleason sum >7; odds ratio, 0.52; 95% confidence interval, 0.32-0.84; P(trend) = 0.01). Our results suggest that higher circulating concentrations of retinol are associated with a decreased risk of aggressive prostate cancer. Further research is needed to better understand the significance of elevations in serum retinol concentrations and the possible biological mechanisms through which retinol affects prostate cancer

The authors pooled data from 15 case-control studies of head and neck cancer (9,107 cases, 14,219 controls) to investigate the independent associations with consumption of beer, wine, and liquor. In particular, they calculated associations with different measures of beverage consumption separately for subjects who drank beer only (858 cases, 986 controls), for liquor-only drinkers (499 cases, 527 controls), and for wine-only drinkers (1,021 cases, 2,460 controls), with alcohol never drinkers (1,124 cases, 3,487 controls) used as a common reference group. The authors observed similar associations with ethanol-standardized consumption frequency for beer-only drinkers (odds ratios (ORs) = 1.6, 1.9, 2.2, and 5.4 for < or =5, 6-15, 16-30, and >30 drinks per week, respectively; P(trend) < 0.0001) and liquor-only drinkers (ORs = 1.6, 1.5, 2.3, and 3.6; P < 0.0001). Among wine-only drinkers, the odds ratios for moderate levels of consumption frequency approached the null, whereas those for higher consumption levels were comparable to those of drinkers of other beverage types (ORs = 1.1, 1.2, 1.9, and 6.3; P < 0.0001). Study findings suggest that the relative risks of head and neck cancer for beer and liquor are comparable. The authors observed weaker associations with moderate wine consumption, although they cannot rule out confounding from diet and other lifestyle factors as an explanation for this finding. Given the presence of heterogeneity in study-specific results, their findings should be interpreted with caution

Genome-wide association studies of prostate cancer have identified single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers in a region of chromosome 10q11.2, harboring the microseminoprotein-beta (MSMB) gene. Both the gene product of MSMB, the prostate secretory protein 94 (PSP94) and its binding protein (PSPBP), have been previously investigated as serum biomarkers for prostate cancer progression. Recent functional work has shown that different alleles of the significantly associated SNP in the promoter of MSMB found to be associated with prostate cancer risk, rs10993994, can influence its expression in tumors and in vitro studies. Since it is plausible that additional variants in this region contribute to the risk of prostate cancer, we have used next-generation sequencing technology to resequence a ~97-kb region that includes the area surrounding MSMB (chr10: 51,168,025-51,265,101) in 36 prostate cancer cases, 26 controls of European origin, and 8 unrelated CEPH individuals in order to identify additional variants to investigate in functional studies. We identified 241 novel polymorphisms within this region, including 142 in the 51-kb block of linkage disequilibrium (LD) that contains rs10993994 and the proximal promoter of MSMB. No sites were observed to be polymorphic within the exons of MSMB