HPC2/ELAC2 polymorphisms and prostate cancer risk: analysis by age of onset of disease

The candidate prostate cancer susceptibility gene HPC2/ELAC2 has two common coding polymorphisms: (Ser→Leu 217) and (Ala→Thr 541). The Thr541 variant in the HPC2/ELAC2 gene has previously been reported to be at an increased frequency in prostate cancer cases. To evaluate this hypothesis we genotyped 432 prostate cancer patients (including 262 patients diagnosed ⩽55 years) and 469 UK, population based control individuals with no family history of cancer. We found no significant difference in the frequencies of Thr541-containing genotypes between cases and controls (OR=1.41, 95% CI 0.79–2.50). The association remained non-significant when the analysis was restricted to cases divided by age of onset into those diagnosed ⩽55 years (OR=1.50, 95% CI 0.79–2.85) or to patients diagnosed >55 years (OR=1.27, 95% CI 0.59–2.74). We conclude that any association between the Thr541 variant and prostate cancer is likely to be weak. British Journal of Cancer (2002) 87, 905–908. doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6600564 www.bjcancer.com © 2002 Cancer Research UK