The impact of germline genetic variations in hydroxysteroid (17-Beta) dehydrogenases on prostate cancer outcomes after prostatectomy - Abstract

BACKGROUND: The relationship between polymorphisms in the hydroxysteroid (17-beta) dehydrogenase (HSD17B) family of genes, which are involved in steroid hormone biotransformation, and the risk of prostate cancer (PCa) progression remains unexplored.

OBJECTIVE: Determine whether inherited variations in HSD17B genes are associated with PCa progression.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: We studied two independent Caucasian cohorts composed of 526 men with organ-confined PCa and 213 men with advanced disease who had a median follow-up of 7.4 yr and 7.8 yr after surgery, respectively.

MEASUREMENTS: Patients with localised PCa were genotyped for 88 haplotype-tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms in HSD17B type 1 (HSD17B1), type 2 (HSD17B2), type 3 (HSD17B3), type 4 (HSD17B4), type 5 (HSD17B5), and type 12 (HSD17B12), and their prognostic significance on disease progression was assessed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression models. Positive findings were then investigated in advanced disease.

RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: After adjusting for known risk factors, 12 SNPs distributed across HSD17B2, HSD17B3, and HSD17B12 were significantly associated with risk of biochemical recurrence (BCR) in localised PCa (for variants in HSD17B2: hazard ratio [HR]: 1.92-2.93; p=0.025-0.004). In addition, four variants of HSD17B2 (rs1364287, rs2955162, rs1119933, rs9934209) were significantly associated with progression-free survival (HR: 2.96-4.69; p=0.004-0.00005) and overall survival in advanced disease (HR: 3.98-8.14; p=0.003-0.00002). Four variants of HSD17B3 and HSD17B12 were associated with a reduced risk of BCR (HR: 0.51-0.65; p=0.020-0.036) but not with progression in advanced disease. These results were generated mainly in Caucasians and should be studied in other ethnic groups.

CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests a prominent role for common genetic variants in the HSD17B2 pathway in PCa progression.

Written by:
Audet-Walsh E, Bellemare J, Lacombe L, Fradet Y, Fradet V, Douville P, Guillemette C, Lévesque E.   Are you the author?
Pharmacogenomics Laboratory, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec (CHUQ) Research Center and Faculty of Pharmacy, Laval University, Québec, Canada.

Reference: Eur Urol. 2011 Dec 21. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.1016/j.eururo.2011.12.021

PubMed Abstract
PMID: 22209174

UroToday.com Investigational Urology Section