Faculty Bibliography

We report a genome-wide association study in 10,286 cases and 9,135 controls of European ancestry in the Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility (CGEMS) initiative. We identify a new association with prostate cancer risk on chromosome 8q24 (rs620861, P = 1.3 x 10(-10), heterozygote OR = 1.17, 95% CI 1.10-1.24; homozygote OR = 1.33, 95% CI 1.21-1.45). This defines a new locus associated with prostate cancer susceptibility on 8q24

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

Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) is a premalignant plasma-cell proliferative disorder associated with a life-long risk of progression to multiple myeloma (MM). It is not known whether MM is always preceded by a premalignant asymptomatic MGUS stage. Among 77,469 healthy adults enrolled in the nationwide population-based prospective Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, we identified 71 subjects who developed MM during the course of the study in whom serially collected (up to 6) prediagnostic serum samples obtained 2 to 9.8 years prior to MM diagnosis were available. Using assays for monoclonal (M)-proteins (electrophoresis/immunofixation) and kappa-lambda free light chains (FLCs), we determined longitudinally the prevalence of MGUS and characterized patterns of monoclonal immunoglobulin abnormalities prior to MM diagnosis. MGUS was present in 100.0% (87.2%-100.0%), 98.3% (90.8%-100.0%), 97.9% (88.9%-100.0%), 94.6% (81.8%-99.3%), 100.0% (86.3%-100.0%), 93.3% (68.1%-99.8%), and 82.4% (56.6%-96.2%) at 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8+ years prior to MM diagnosis, respectively. In approximately half the study population, the M-protein concentration and involved FLC-ratio levels showed a yearly increase prior to MM diagnosis. In the present study, an asymptomatic MGUS stage consistently preceded MM. Novel molecular markers are needed to better predict progression to MM in patients with MGUS

Two recent genome-wide association studies have independently identified a prostate cancer susceptibility locus on chromosome 10q11.2. The most significant single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker reported, rs10993994, is 57 bp centromeric of the first exon of the MSMB gene, which encodes beta-microseminoprotein (prostatic secretory protein 94). In this study, a fine-mapping analysis using HapMap SNPs was conducted across a approximately 65-kb region (chr10: 51168330-51234020) flanking rs10993994 with 13 tag SNPs in 6,118 prostate cancer cases and 6,105 controls of European origin from the Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility (CGEMS) project. rs10993994 remained the most strongly associated marker with prostate cancer risk [P = 8.8 x 10(-18); heterozygous odds ratio (OR) = 1.20, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11-1.30; homozygous OR = 1.64, 95% CI: 1.47-1.86 for the adjusted genotype test with 2 df]. In follow-up functional analyses, the T variant of rs10993994 significantly affected expression of in vitro luciferase reporter constructs. In electrophoretic mobility shift assays, the C allele of rs10993994 preferentially binds to the CREB transcription factor. Analysis of tumor cell lines with a CC or CT genotype revealed a high level of MSMB gene expression compared with cell lines with a TT genotype. These findings were specific to the alleles of rs10993994 and were not observed for other SNPs determined by sequence analysis of the proximal promoter. Together, our mapping study and functional analyses implicate regulation of expression of MSMB as a plausible mechanism accounting for the association identified at this locus. Further investigation is warranted to determine whether rs10993994 alone or in combination with additional variants contributes to prostate cancer susceptibility

OBJECTIVE: The Wnt/APC/beta-catenin signaling pathway, which includes frizzled-related protein (FRZB), plays a critical role in the development of colorectal cancer, and recent evidence suggests that the functional polymorphism, FRZB Arg324Gly, may be associated with risk for this disease. To determine if this finding could be replicated, we investigated the association between two FRZB polymorphisms (Arg324Gly and Arg200Trp) and the risk of colorectal adenoma and cancer in nested case-control studies. METHODS: Participants consisted of 1,709 adenoma cases, 620 cancer cases, and 1,849 controls within the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the associations with colorectal neoplasia. RESULTS: No association was observed for either polymorphism or any haplotypes with colorectal adenoma or colorectal cancer (p > 0.05 for all). CONCLUSION: Our study does not support the previously observed association between the FRZB 324Gly variant and colorectal cancer risk. However, further study of additional genetic variants within this pathway is still warranted, given the important role of the Wnt signaling pathway in colorectal carcinogenesis

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

We conducted a three-stage genome-wide association study (GWAS) of breast cancer in 9,770 cases and 10,799 controls in the Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility (CGEMS) initiative. In stage 1, we genotyped 528,173 SNPs in 1,145 cases of invasive breast cancer and 1,142 controls. In stage 2, we analyzed 24,909 top SNPs in 4,547 cases and 4,434 controls. In stage 3, we investigated 21 loci in 4,078 cases and 5,223 controls. Two new loci achieved genome-wide significance. A pericentromeric SNP on chromosome 1p11.2 (rs11249433; P = 6.74 x 10(-10) adjusted genotype test, 2 degrees of freedom) resides in a large linkage disequilibrium block neighboring NOTCH2 and FCGR1B; this signal was stronger for estrogen-receptor-positive tumors. A second SNP on chromosome 14q24.1 (rs999737; P = 1.74 x 10(-7)) localizes to RAD51L1, a gene in the homologous recombination DNA repair pathway. We also confirmed associations with loci on chromosomes 2q35, 5p12, 5q11.2, 8q24, 10q26 and 16q12.1

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

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